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I  AUJMNl  LIBBAKY, 

I  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 

I  PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

%  .  -  ^  , 


,„£^<^^^^es^  

BS  2560  .T565  1829 
Thompson,  John  Samuel 

1787. 
The  Monotessaron 


THE 


MONOTESSARON; 


THE  GOSPEL  HISTORY^ 

ACCORDING    TO 

THE  FOUR  EVANGELISTS: 

HARMONIZED  AND  CHRONOLOGIC  ALLY  ARRANGED, 

IN    A 

UEVr  TRANSLATION 
FROM  THE  GREEK  TEXT  OF  GRIESBACH, 

IltUSTRATED  BY  SELECTIONS  FHOM    THE  MOST  EMINENT    COMMENTATORS,    AJjT- 

CIENT  AND  MODERN,  AND  BT  A  GREAT  TAHIETT  OF  ORIGINAL  NOTES 

AND    DISSERTATIONS,  EXHIBITING    THE  LATEST  IMPROVEMENTS 

IN  BIBLICAL  SCIENCE  AND    CRITICISM. 


BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  S.*^THOMPSON, 

OF  THE    tJNIVERSITlES    OF    GLASGOTV   AND    EDINBURGH,    PHOFESSOK   OF 
LANGtTAGES,    AND    AUTHOR  OF    "SYSTEMATICAL    THEOLOGY." 


The  Holf  Scriptures  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  to  salvation,  tbrougii  faith  in  Chrisit 

Jesus,    2  Tim.  3. 15. 
How  cau  I  understand,  unless  someone  guide  mef     Acts  8.  31. 
The  unlearned  wrest  the  Scriptures  to  their  own  destruction,    2  Peter  3. 16. 


BALTIMORE: 

PRINTED   FOU    THE    AUTHOR. 
1829. 


DISTRICT  OF  MARrLAND— To  Wit: 
BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  the  Inth' 
♦***'*'*  peudence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  JOHN  S.  THOMPSON,  of  the  said 

*  L.    Si        district,  hath  deposited  in  this  office,  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right  whereof  he 

♦  ■         ^  claims  as  proprietor,  in  the  words  foUewine,  to  wit: 

"The  MoDotessaron;  or  the  Gospel  History,  according  to  the  Four  Evangelists;  harmonized 
«ud  chronologically  arranged,  in  a  new  translation  from  the  Greek  te\t  of  Griesbach;  illustrated 
by  selections  from  the  most  eminent  Conimeutat.jrs,  ancient  and  modern,  and  by  a  great  varie- 
ty of  original  notes  and  dissertations,  exhibiting  the  latest  improvements  iu  Bibli  ja^l  science  and 
criticism;  by  the  Rev.  John  S  'J'hompson,  of  the  Universities  of  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh,  Pro- 
fessor of  Languages,  and  author  of  "Systematical  Theology."  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  able  to 
Make  thee  wise  to  salvation  throngli  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  2  Tim.  3.  15.  How  can  I  understand 
unless  some  one  guide  nie?  Acts  8.  31.  The  unlearned  wrest  the  scriptures  to  their  ownde- 
struction,    2  Peter  3.  16." 

In  conformity  to  the  a«t  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled  '"An  act  for  the  encour- 
agement of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  pro- 
prietors of  such  copies,  during  the  tiroes  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  the  act,  entitled 'An 
act  supplementary  to  an  act,  entitled  'An  act  for  fhe  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing 
the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during 
the  times  therein  mentioned.'  aud  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing,  en- 
graving, and  etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

PHILIP  MOORE, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Maryland. 


ADVERTISEMEIVT. 


This  work  claims  the  following  advantages  over  all  others  of  the 
kind  extant  in  the  English  language:  1  A  more  accurate  text.  The 
translation  has  been  made  from  the  best  edition  of  Griesbach,  and 
carefully  collated  with  the  ancient  Syriac  and  Latin  Vulgate.  2 
Superiority  and  greater  purity  of  style.  Vulgarisms,  Hebraisms, 
and  numerous  tautologies,  which  are  found  in  the  best  Harmonies 
extant,  are  here  avoided.  3  Jt  more  complete  harmony  of  the  Evan' 
gelists,  in  which  more  than  a  hundred  discrepant  expressions, 
which  may  be  found  in  any  other,  are  here  reconciled.  4  Ji  much 
nearer  approach  to  perfection  in  Chronological  arrangement,  5  A 
more  extensive  and  critical  commentary.  6  Greater  purity  from, 
Secretarian  errors,  and  greater  independency  of  thought  and  expres- 
sion. He  that  follows  Christ  and  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened  con- 
science, and  despises,  the  meanness  and  slavery  of  framing  his 
speech  to  accord  with  the  Shibboleth  of  party,  must  expect  to  bear 
reproach,  but  in  this  respect,  the  author  can  adopt  as  his  motto: 
Conscia  mens  recti,  famae  mendacia  ridet.  7  The  Theology  of  this 
work  is  more  pure  from  the  contagion  of  vulgar  and  heathen  super- 
stition on  the  one  hand,  and  the  equally  dangerous  contagion  of  Infi- 
delity on  the  other.  For  thirty  years,  the  author  has  studied  his 
Bible  as  carefully  and  assiduously  as  any  man  on  earth;  and  can 
truly  adopt  the  language  of  Chemnitz  as  his  own:  Salutarem  His- 
tori  am  de  vita  et  actis  dulscissimi  Salvatoris  nostri  a  teneris  amavi. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  greatest  independency  of  expression,  the 
language  of  the  heart  has  been  that  of  Augustine:  Heriticus  esse 
nolo:  or  that  of  the  Psalmist,  O  send  out  thy  light  and  thy  truth,  let 
them  lead  me,  or  that  of  the  English  Church:  From  all  heresy,  false 
doctrine  and  gchism,  good  Lord  dehver  us! 

The  Harmonists  from  whom  the  author  has  derived  the  greatest 
assistance,  are  Chemnitz,  Lightfoot,  Cartwrlght,  Le  Clerc,  Cra- 
dock,  Newcome,  Doddridge,  Priestley,  Michaelis,  Griesbach,  and 
Townsend. 

The  Commentators  to  whom  he  owes  the  greastest  obligation,  are 
Origen,  Chrysostom,  Jerome,  Theophyhic,  Conneil  a  Lapide,  Tiri- 
nus,  Le  Clerc's  Hammond,  VVhitby,  Calmet,  Clarke,  Grotius,  Gill, 
Kuinoel,  Rosenmuller,  Beausobre  and  L'Enfant,  Bengel,  Stock, 
Priestley,  Campbell,  and  McKnight.  Nor  is  he  less  indebted  to 
the  Horae  Hebraicae  of  Lightfoot  and  Schoetgen. 

The  Lexicons,  which  he  found  to  be  most  useful,  are  those  of 
Dielericus,  Stock,  Leigh,  Schoetgen,  Parhurst,  and  Schleusner. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
PREFACE.  in. 

PART  FIRST. 

Section. 

1  IntroHuction,   Luke  1.  1 — 5;  John  1.   1 — 5,  9 — 14, 

16,17,18.  I 

2  Book  of  the  Nativity,  Luke  first  and  second  chapters.       18 

3  Preaching   of    the    Baptist,    Matt.  3.    1  — 13;  Mark  1. 

1—9;  Luke  3.   1  — 18;  and  John  1.  6   7,  8.  24 

4  Baptism   of  Jesus  Christ,  Matt.   3.    13 — 17;  Mark    1. 

9— 11;  Luke  3.  21,22 28 

5  Genealogy   of  Jesus,    Matt.    1.  1 — 17,  and    Luke   3. 

23—38.  S3 

6  The   temptation   of  Jesus,   Matt.   4.   1—11;  Mark    1. 

12,  13;  Luke  4.  1—13 33 

7  The  second  Testimony  of  John,  John  1.  15,  &  19—34.  40 

8  Jesus  o!itains  Disciples    from    John,  John  1.  35 — 51.         44 

9  Marriage  Feast  at  Cana,  John  2.  1 — 11.  .         .  47 

10  John's  last  Testimony  and  Iinprisonment,   John  2.    12, 

and  3   22—36;  Matt.   14.    3—5;  xMark    6.    17—21; 
Luke  3.  18—21.  48 

11  Christ's  journey  through  Samaria,  Matt.   4.    12;   John 

4.  1—42.  52 

1 2  Cure  of  the  Officer's  Son,  Matt.  4.  12;  John  4. 43—54.         60 

13  Jesus    opens  his  Commission   at   Nazareth,    Luke   4. 

14— 23;  Mark  1.  14,  15.  ....         61 

14  Parable  of  the  Sower    Matt.  13.    1 — 9,    and    18 — 24; 

Mark  4.  1—10.  13— 21;  Luke  5.  1—4,   and   8.    4— 

9,    11—16.  65 

15  Draught  of  Fishes  and  call  of  Peter,  Luke   5.  4 — 11.         69 

16  Cure  of  a   Demoniac   at  Capernaum,  Mark  1.  21 — 

28;  Luke  4.  31—37.  70 

17  Cure  of  Simon  Peter's  Mother-in-Law,  Matt.    8.   14 — 

17,    and   4.    23—25;    Mark  1.    29—40;    Luke    4. 
38—44.  .......         72 


CONTENTS. 

'"Section.  i^age. 

18  Parable  of  the  Wheat  and  Darnel,  Matt.    13.   2,24— 

32,  and  36—43;  Mark  4.  1—4,  and  24,  26—35; 
Luke  8.  18.  76 

19  A  Storm  on  the  Lake,  Matt.  8.  18 — 27";  Mark  4.  35— 

41;  Luke  8.  22—26,  and  9.  57—62.  .         .         80 

20  Cure  of  the    Gadarene  Demoniac,    Matt.    8.  27 — 34; 

Mark  5.  J— 21,  Luke  8.  26 — 40.  .         .         .         8S 

21  Careof  the  Paralytic,  Matt.  9.  1—9,  Mark  2.    1—12; 

Luke  5.  17—26.  ......         86 

22  Call  of    Matthew  Levi,  Matt.    9.    9 — 18;   Mark    2. 

13— 23;  Luke  5.27—39.  ....  88 

23  Cure  of  a  Hemorrhage,  and  of  Jairus'  daughter,   Matt. 

9.  18 — 27;  Mark  5.  22 — 43;  and  Luke  8.  41 — 56.  91 

24  Cure    of  two  blind   men,    and  a    Dumb    Demoniac, 

Matt.  9.  27—34 93 

25  Jesus  revisits  Nazareth,  Matt.  4.  13 — 17,  and  13.  54 — 

58;  Mark  6.  1—7;  Luke  3.  23—30.         ...       95 

26  Conversation  with  Xicodemus,  John  2.  13,  2i — 3.  22.         98 

27  Jesus  walks  in  the  Corn  fields,  Matt.  12.  1 — 8;  Mark  2. 

23— 28;  Luke  6.  1—6 105 

28  Cure  of  a  Withered  Hand,  Matt.  12.  9—22;  Mark  3. 

1—12;  Luke  6.  1—12,  and  17— 19-         .         .         .108 

29  Ordination  of  the  Twelve  Disciples,  Matt.  5.  2 — 17;  6. 

19—84,  and  7.  6,  21—27,  and  10.  1 — 4;  Mark  3. 
13—20,  4.21,  22,  and  9.  49,  50;  Luke  6.  12—17, 
20—27,  39,  40,  46-49;  8.  16,  17;  and  11.  33—36, 
and  12.  22— 34,  and  IG.  13.  .         .         .         .Ill 

30  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Matt.  5.  1,  17 — 6.  19;  7.  1 — 5, 

7—21;  Mark  4.  24;  Luke  6.  27—39;  and  41—46, 

and  11.  1—14;   12.  51,  59;  16,  17,  18.  .  .      121 

31  A  Leper  is  Cleansed,  Matt.  7.  28,  and  8.  1 — 5;  Mark  1. 

40— 45;  Luke  5.  12— 16 139 

32  Cure  of  the  Centurion's  Servant,  Matt.  8.  5 — 13.  Luke 

7.  1—11.  142 

33  Mission  of  the  Twelve,  Matt.  10.  1,  6 — 11.  1;  Mark  6. 

7—14;  Luke  9.  1—7;  and  10.  2—13.  144 

34  Blasphemy  of  the  Pharisees,  Matt.  12.  22 — 37;  Mark 

3.  22— 30;  Luke  11.  14— 23.  .         .         .         .151 

35  Arrival  ©f  Christ's  Brethren,  Matt.  12.  46 — 50;  Mark 

8.  31— 35;  Lukes.  19— 21  and  11.27,  28.       .         .     153 

36  Widow  of  Nain's  Son,  Luke  7.  11 — 17.        .         .         .     154 

37  Christ's  answer  to  John's  Messengers,  Matt.  11.  2 — 16; 

Luke  7.  18—31.  155 

38  Death  of  John  the  Baptist,  Matt.  14.  6—18;  Mark  6. 

21—30.  ........     156 


PART  SECOND. 

Section.  Page. 

S9  Jesus  leaves  the  Tetrarchy  of  Herod,  Matt.  14. 1,2, 13; 

Mark  6.  14—17;  30—33;  Luke  9.  7—11.        .         .     Ii7 

40  Jesus  feeds  five  thousand  men,  Matt.  14. 14—22;  Mark 

6.  34—44;  Luke  9.  11—17;  John  6.  1—15.  .     159 

41  Jesus  Walks  on  the  Sea,  Matt.  14.  22—36;  Mark  6. 

45—56;  John  6.  15— 21 162 

42  Discourse  concerninij  Bread,  John  6.  22— 59.       .         .  164 

43  Defection  among  the  Disciples,  John  6.  60 — 71  .  167 

44  Cure  of  the  Impot-^nf  ^nan  at  Bethesda,  John  5.  1 — 17  170 

45  Discourse  at  th-.  P^ratecost;  John  5.  17 — 47.  172 

46  Discourse   concerning    Tradition,    Matt.     15.    1 — 20 j 

Mark  7.  1—23.  175 

47  Syro-Phenician  Woman,    Matt.  15.  21 — 28;  Mark  7. 

24—31 1T9 

48  Cure  of  a  Deaf  and  Dumb  man,  Matt.  15.  28 — 31;  Mark 

7.  31—37. 181 

49  Jesus  feeds  four  thousand  men,  Matt.  15.  32 — 88;  Mark 

8.  1—9 182 

50  The  Pharisees  seek  a  Sign,  Matt.  11.  16—20;  12.38— 

45;  and  16. 1—5;  Mark  8.  11—14;  Luke  11.  24— 27, 

and  12.  54—58.  183 

51  Caution  against  false  Doctrines,  Matt.  16.  5 — 12;  Mark 

8.  14— 21;  Luke  12.  1 186 

52  Blind  Man  of  Bethsaida.  Mark  8.22— 26.  .         .      190 
63  Peter's  Confession,  Matt.  16. 13—21;  Mark  8.  27—31; 

Luke9. 18— 21.  191 

54  Jesus  foretells  his  Sufferings,  Matt.  16.  21 — 28;  Mark 

8.  31—38,  9.  1;  Luke  9.  22—27.  .  .196 

55  Christ's  Transfiguration,  Matt.  17.  1—13;  Mark  9.  2— 

14:  Luke  9.  28—37.  199 

66  Cure  of  a  Dumb  Demoniac,  Matt.  17.  14— 21;  Mark  9. 

14— 30;  Luke  9.  37— 43;  and  17.  5,  6.  .         .206 

57  Jesus  instructs  his  Disciples  privately,  Matt.  17.  22,  23; 

Mark  9.  30— 32;  Luke  9.  43 — 45.  .         .         .212 

58  Payment  of  the  Tribute  Money,  Matt.  17.  24—27.  213 

59  Discourse  concerning  Humility,  Matt.  18.  1 — 10;  Mark 

9.  33_49;  Luke  9.  46— 50.and  17.  1,  2.         .         .     214 

60  Doctrine  of  Forgiveness,   Matt.    18.    15 — 35;    Luke 

17.3.4 '.         .         .228 

Gl  Jesus  takes  final  leave  of  Galilee,  Matt.  10.  20—24;  19. 

1;  Luke  9.51;  10.  13- 17;13.31— 33;John7.  1— 9.     280 

62  Mission  of  the  Seventy-two,  Luke  10.  l,  9;  and  12.  35 — 

48;  Matt.  24.  42— 51;  Mark  13.33— 37.  .  .     233 

63  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  John  7.  10— 52.         .         .         .240 

64  Jesus  asserts    the  authority    of  his  Mission,  John   8. 

12-33 247 


CONTENTS.  vii 

Section.  Page. 

65  Discourse  eoncerning  Abraham's   Offspring,  John   8. 

93— -59 249 

66  Return  of  the  Seventy,   Luke  10.17 — 24;  Matt.  11. 

25—30 266 

67  A  Teacher  of  the  Law  instructed,  Luke  10.  26 — 28.  261 

68  Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  Luke  10.  29 — 37.  862 

69  Martha's  Entertainment,  Luke  10.  38 — 42.         .         .  264 

70  Christ  reproves  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  Luke   11. 

37—47,  and   52—54;  and  Matt.  23.  13,  23,  25,  26.  265 

71  Caution  against  Covetousness,  Luke  12.  13 — 21.         .  266 

72  Massacre  of  Galileans  by  Pilate,  Luke  13.  1 — 6.         .  268 

73  Cure  of  an  Infirm  Woman,  Luke  13.  10 — 18.     .          .  269 

74  Design  of  the  Parables,  Matt.  13. 10 — 18,  33,  44,  53: 

Luke  13. 18,  20,  21 273 

75  Number  of  the  Saved,  Luke  13.  23 — 30.            .         .  280 

76  Jesus  dines  with  one  of  the  Rulers,  Luke  14.  1 — 14.  287 

77  Parable  of  the  Marriage  Feast,  Matt.  22.  1 — 14;  Luke 

14.  15—24 290 

IS  Christians  must  renounce  the  World,Luke  14.  25 — 33.  294 

79  The  Lost  Sheep  and  Drachma,  Luke  15. 1 — 10;  Matt. 

18.  12—14 295 

80  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  Luke  15.  11—32.          .  297 

81  Parable  of  the  Unjust  Steward,  Luke  16.  1 — 12,  and 

14,  15 299 

82  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus,  Luke  16.  19—31.           .         .  301 

83  Christ  rejected  by  the  Samaritans,  Luke  9.  52 — 56.  .  316 

84  Cure  of  ten  Lepers,  Luke  17.  11 — 18.       .         .         .317 

85  Coming  of  Messiah's  Reign,  Luke  17.  20 — 37.             .  818 

86  Nature  and  Importance  of  Prayer,  Luke  18.  1 — 14,   .  321 

87  Cure  of  a  Man  born  blind,  John  9.  1 — 11.          .         .  323 

88  Parable  of  the  Shepherd  and  Sheep,  John  10.  1 — 21.  328 

89  The  feast  -'f  the  Dedication,  John  lU.  2"2 — 42.          .  832 

90  Liquiry  concerning  Divorces,  Matt.  19.  2 — 12;  Mark 

10.  2—12,  Lii;:  J  16—18.        .....  336 

91  Children  received   and   blessed,  Matt.    19.    13 — 15; 

Mark  10.  13— 16  Luke  18.  15— 17.                 .         .  337 

92  Riches  injurious  to  Religion,  Matt.  19.  16 — 26;  Mark 

10.  17—27;  Luke  18.  18—27.  .         .         .338 

93  Reward  of  preferring  Christ  to  the   world,  Matt.   19. 

27—29;  Mark  10.  28—30;  Luke  18.  28—30.         .  341 

94  Ambition  of  Zebedee's  Sons,  Matt.  20.  20—28;  Mark 

10.  33—45. 344 

95  Parable  of  the  Labourers,  Matt.  19.  30—20.  16.         .  .347 

96  Lazarus  raised  from  the  Dead,  John  M.  1 — 46.            .  350 

97  Decree  of  the  Sanhedrim,  John  ll.  47 — 64,  5,  7,  and 

12.  10,  11.              355 


VIU  CONTENTS. 

Section.  Page. 

98  Christ's  last  Journey  to  Jerusalem,  John  11.  55,  56; 

Matt  20.  17— 19;  Mark  10. 32— 34;  Luke  18.31—34.    356 

99  Cure  of  Blind  Bartimeus,  Matt.  20,  29—34;  Mark  10. 

46— 52;  and  Luke  18.  35— 19.  1.  .         .         .358 

100  Christ  visits  Zaccheus,  Luke  19.  2— 10.      .         .         .361 

101  Parable  of  the  Minas,  Luke  19.  11— 28.      .         .         .362 

102  Jesus  sups  with  Simon  at  Bethany,  Luke  7.  36 — 50; 

John  12.  1—8;  Matt.  26.  6—13;  Mark  14.  3—9.         364 

103  Christ's  Triumphant  Entry  into  Jerusalem,  Matt.  21. 

1—10;  Mark   11.  1— 10;  Luke  19  29—44;  John 

12.  12—19 367 

104  Jesus  cleanses  the  Temple,  Matt.  21. 10 — 17;  Mark 

11    11,  15—19;  Luke  19.  45— 48;  John2. 13— 22.     372 

105  Barren  Fig  Tree,   Matt.  21.  18—22;  Mark  11.  12— 

14,  20—28,  24.  375 

106  Discourse  with  the  Chief  Priest?,  Matt.  21.  23 — 32; 

Mark  11.  27— 12.  1;  Luke  20.  1—9.     .         .         .378 

107  Parable  of  the  Vineyard,  Matt.  21.  33—45;  Mark  12. 

1—13;  Luke  20.  9—19 879 

108  Greeks  desire  to  see  Jesus,  John  12.  20 — 50.     .        .     385 

109  Christ's  Reply   to   the    Herodians,  Matt.  22.   15—22 

Mark  12.  12— 17;  Luke  20.  20— 26.      ,        .         .391 

110  Christ's   Reply  to  the   Sadducees,  Matt.  22.  23—33; 

Mark  12.  18—27;  Luke  20.27—38.     .         .         .392 

111  Christ's   Reply  to  the  Pharisees,   Matt.  22.  34 — 47; 

Mark  12.  28— 37;  Luke  20.  39— 44.      .         .         .396 

112  Jesus  Inveighs  against  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  Matt. 

23.  1—3,  5,  8—10,  14—22,  27—39;  Mark  12.  38 
—40;  Luke  11.  47—51,  and  13.  34,  35,  and  20. 
45—47.  ........     404 


PREFACE. 


On  offering:  to  the  Christian  world,  a  new  edition  of  the  Gos- 
pel History,  differing  in  construction  and  arrangement  from  all 
former  publications,  on  the  same  subject,  some  explanatory  ob- 
servations, illustrative  of  the  nature  and  characteristics  of  the 
work,  njay  be  necessary.  The  title,  Monoiessaron^  implies  one 
out  of  four,  and  appears  the  most  appropriate  that  can  be  select- 
ed to  designate  a  history,  including  the  four  Gospels  in  one  regu- 
lar narrative.  The  word  Diatessaron  is  of  more  general  use, 
but  is  not  so  significant  and  suitable  for  a  work  of  this  nature. 
The  grand  object  of  Gospel  Harmonists,  has  been  to  attain  such 
an  exhibition  or  arrangement  of  the  four  Gospels,  as  sets  forth 
the  agreement  of  the  Evangelists,  in  their  testimony  concerning 
the  life,  doctrines,  miracles,  character,  death,  and  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ.  To  accomplish  so  desirable  an  object,  two 
methods  have  been  pursued  by  Harmonists,  of  which  a  brief  ac- 
count shall  be  given. 

1.  The  Ta'ian  Method  which  attempts  to  construct  one  regu- 
lar, connected  history,  including  every  text  and  phrase  in  the 
four  Gospels,  and  at  the  same  time,  avoiding  all  refietitions  of  the 
same  or  similar  words  and  phrases  ;  so  that  the  whole  writings 
of  the  four  Evangelists,  may  appear  as  the  production  of  one 
writer.  This  was  the  plan  invented  by  Tatian,  who  composed  a 
Diatessaron,  in  the  second  century,  being  the  first  attempt  to 
harmonize  the  four  Evangelists.  Of  those  who  have  pursued  the 
Tatian  method,  the  following  are  perhaps  the  mosi  worthy  of  no- 
tice : — Chancellor  Gerson,  who  published  a  Monotessaron, 
Parfs,  1420.  Jansenius,  Bishop  of  Ghent,  who  published  his 
CoNCORBANTiA  EvANGELicA,  at  Louvaiu  in  1571,  which  was 
highly  recommended  by  both  Catholics  and  Protestants,  for  mo- 
desty, piety  and  erudition.  He  has  been  esteemed  tlie  prince  of 
the  Catholic  harmonists;  and  the  public  manifested  their  esteem 
for  his  labours,  so  far  as  to  require  fourteen  editions  of  his  valua- 
ble harmony. 

Among  the  Protestants,  Osiander  published  a  Harmony  in 
1537,  of  which  Walch  and  Chemnitius  speak  witli  great  respect, 
but  Michaelis  says  some  things   rather  sarcastically.     In  the 


IV  PREFACE. 

next  century,  the  learned  Calovius  published  his  valuable  Biblia 
Illustrata,  in  which  is  contained  a  Harmony,  after  the  innn- 
ner  of  O^-iandcr.  In  1647,  appeared  from  the  Elzevir  press,  at 
Amsterdam,  a  beautiful  edition  of  the  Harmony  of  the  learned 
professor  Cartwrij^ht,  containiuj^^  besides  the  text,  an  analysis, 
para|5hrase,  and  practical  observations,  on  every  portion  of  the 
Evaii.t^olical  history.  In  1747,  Pilkington  published  an  Evan- 
gelical History,  which  exhibits  much  ingenuity,  talent,  and 
industry.  Nor  should  I  pass  unnoticed,  the  valuable  Diatessa- 
rons,  ptiblisiicd  by  professor  White,  Robert  Thompson,  13 r.  Wil- 
lan,  John  Chambers,  U.  Warner,  and  the  Synopsis  of  Chai-les 
Thompson,  all  published  in  the  present  century.  Last  of  all, 
though  probably  best  of  all,  the  New  Testament  arranged  in 
chi-onological  order,  by  George  Townsend,  London  1825,  which 
contains  one  of  the  best  Movntessarons  ever  publislied. 

2.  The  Eusebian  Jtethodt  so  called  from  Eusebius  of  Cesarea. 
Harmonists,  who  pursue  this  method,  endeavour  so  to  arrange, 
in  parallel  columns,  the  wlxde  text  of  the  four  Evangelists,  that 
their  agreement  or  dissonance  may  be  at  once  perceived.  Some 
have  imagined  that  this  is  the  only  arrangement  of  the  Gospels 
that  can  be  entitled  a  harmony  ;  but  after  all  attempts  of  this 
kind  have  been  tried,  by  the  inost  eminent  theologians,  the  re- 
sult must  be  either  a  Monotessaron  or  the  object  has  not  been  at- 
tained. Surely  if  all  the  Evangelists  could  be  so  arranged  as  to 
avoid  all  dissonance,  there  would  remain  only  several  repetitions 
of  the  same  narrative.  Among  those  Harmonists,  who  have  ar- 
ranged the  writings  of  the  Evangelists  in  parallel  columns,  the 
most  distinguished  have  been  Calvin,  Chemnitius,  Le  Clerc, 
Toinard,  Newcome,  and  Griesbach.  Chemnitius  has  been 
styled  tiie  Janseniiis  of  the  Protestants.  He  died  leaving  the 
woik  incomplete,  but  his  laboiious  undertaking  was  brought  to 
its  accomplishment  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
by  two  very  eminent  theologians,  Lyser  and  Gerhard.  The 
"work  being  completed,  appeared  in  three  large  folios  :  the  most 
extensive  and  probably  the  most  valuable  work  on  the  Gospels, 
that  has  ever  been  published.  In  1699,  the  learned  Le  Clerc 
published  nis  Harmonia  Evangelica,  which  hasutiited  the  tes- 
timony of  all  critics  in  his  praise.  Besides  the  exhibition  of  the 
four  Gospels,  in  parallel  columns,  the  work  contains,  **  A  History 
of  Cnrist  from  tkt  four  Evangelists*^^  c<nn posed  in  the  form  of  a 
Diatessaron.  He  has  also  subjoined  several  excellent  and  learn- 
ed dissertations,  so  that  the  work  is  entitled  to  the  first  rank 
among  hvumonies. 

Archbishop  Newcome  professes  to  have  followed  Le  Clerc's  ar- 
rangement, and  may  be  justly  allowed  the  merit  of  having  im- 


PREFACE.  V 

proved  on  all  his  predecessors,  in  this  method  of  writing.  His 
notes  are  valunble;  tlioui^h  his  reasoning  be  sometimes  inconclu- 
sive. His  Hai  iHony  has  been  repubUsheU  at  Andover,  Mass. 
from  the  Greek  text  and  sehct  various  readings  of  Griesbach. 
Tiie  only  book  of  tlie  kind  with  which  the  Andover  edition  of 
Newcouje  has  to  contend,  is  the  Synopsis  Evangeliorum  of  Gries- 
bach, which  Bishop  Marsh  prefei's  to  every  other  harmony  ex- 
tant. IMx^se  two  vNorks  are  best  adapted  for  tlie  use  of  classes 
or  students,  who  prefer  harmonies  constructed  on  the  Eusebian 
Method. 

Though  Piiestley  may  be  ranked  in  this  class  of  writers,  yet 
like  Le  Clerc,  he  may  be  said  to  have  followed  both  methods  ; 
for  his  harmony  is  so  airiinged  and  printed,  as  to  exhibit  &MonO' 
tessaron,  whilst  it  presents  the  whole  text  of  each  Evangelist,  in 
a  distinct  column.  In  point  of  chronological  arrangement  and 
harnionical  symphon},  Priestley's  Harmony  exceeds  all  that 
had  been  previously  published,  and  therefore  should  not  be  neg- 
lected or  despised,  on  account  of  his  peculiar  sentiments. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  ORDER. 

A  second  distinction  arises  among  Harmonists,  from  their  di' 
versity  of  o[)inion,  concerning  the  accuracy  oi-  deficiency  of  chro" 
nological  order,  obseived  by  the  Evangelists,  in  ti»e  composition 
of  their  histoi  ies.  Here  they  are  distingiiisned  into  three  classes  ; 
the  Scholastic,  Osiandnan,  and  CiUvinian. 

1.  The  SchoUistic  canon,  was: — The  Evangelists  have  neither 
constantly  folluweil  nor  wholly  neglected  the  chronological  order  of 
events.  This  vn  as  the  judgment  of  all  antiquity  till  the  sixteenth 
century. 

2.  The  Osiandrian  canon,  deriving  its  name  from  Osiander, 
an  eminent  German  Theologian,  assumes  as  a  fact,  which  it 
would  be  impious  to  controvert,  that  all  the  Evangelists  have  pre- 
served the  true  order  of  time  in  their  narratives.  This  opinion 
was  espoused  by  Molineus,  Codmann,  Cluver,  Cahjvius,  Saiid- 
hagenius,  Rus,  and  McKnight,  who  have  all  composed  harmo- 
nies,  in  humble  submission  to  the  Osiandrian  canon.  Though 
Rus,  in  the  opinion  of  Hofmann,  was  entitled  to  the  honour  of  be- 
ing prince  of  Harmonists,  and  Calovius  and  McKnight  claim  an 
undisputed  high  rank  among  commentators,  yet  the  reflection  of 
Michaelis  concerning  Osiander,  is  applicable  to  all  writers  of 
this  class :  "  They  render  the  Gospel  history,  not  only  suspicious, 
but  even  incredible,  by  frequent  repetitions  of  the  same  discours- 
es and  miracles.'* 


VI  PREFACE. 

3.  The  Calvinian  canon  is  directly  opposed  to  the  Osiandri- 
an,  and  asscfts  that  none  of  the  Evangelists  have  preserved  the 
true  chronological  order  of  events.  The  disciph's  hfing  satisfied 
with  communicating  to  the  fo'.hnvers  of  Chi-ist,  a  faithful  state- 
ment of  his  sayings  and  doings,  without  scriipuh)us  regard  to  the 
order  and  tinte  of  each  transaction.  Agi-eeably  to  this  opinion 
Chemnitius,  considering  the  Gospels,  as  a  collection  of  many 
fragments,  written  on  the  plan  of  letters,  proceeded  to  collect  and 
arrange  them,  according  to  the  order  of  t"'r)e  in  which  each  event 
happened;  and  perhaps  this  is  the  only  method  by  which  a  regu- 
lar and  connected  history  can  he  obtained.  Indeed  it  seems  ra- 
tional to  suppose,  that  the  disciples,  and  many  of  our  Lord's  hear- 
ers, would,  oi:  different  occasions,  taiie  detached  niiMuorandums 
of  his  discourse,  which  would  be  afterwards  used,  in  the  compo- 
sition of  the  Gospels.  Moreover  when  the  disciples,  or  lirst 
christians,  were  disposed  to  collect  these  memorandums  into  one 
historical  narrative,  they  would  be  more  likely  to  classify  events 
and  discourses  of  a  similar  nature,  than  to  arrange  them  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  time  in  which  they  happened. 

In  relation  to  the  comparative  accuracy  of  the  four  Evange- 
lists, with  respect  to  chronological  order,  a  great  diversity  of 
opinion  has  existed  among  Harmonists  Augustine  having  near- 
ly followed  the  order  of  Matthew,  in  his  book,  De  Consensu 
jkvangdistarum,  may  have  contributed,  in  tlie  first  place  to  im- 
press the  opinion,  that  Matthew  had  observed  the  order  of  time 
with  gteater  exactness  than  the  other  Evangelists.  But  what 
contributed  much  more  to  establish  tiiis  opinion,  was  the  very 
popular  work  of  Ludolphus,  entitled  Vita  Christi,  published 
in  the  fourteenth  century.  LudcUphus  was  almost  deified,  and 
his  Harmony  or  Life  of  Christ,  so  much  admired,  as,  in  a  short 
time,  to  pass  through  thirty  editions.  About  the  same  time, 
Guido  de  Perpiniano  published  a  Concordia  Evangeltca„  in  which 
he  nearly  follows  the  order  of  Matthew.  For  several  centuries, 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew  was  considered  the  standard,  and  the 
other  Gospels  transposed  to  agree  with  Matthew's  arrangement. 
But  as  extremes  are  often  mutually  productive,  as  well  as  mutu- 
ally destructive,  a  great  reverse  of  opinion  soon  ensued,  after  the 
appearance  of  Bishop  Richardson's  harmony,  in  the  annals  of 
Archbishop  Usher,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Here  the  very  opposite  Hypothesis  is  maintained  ;  tha.t  Mitthew 
alone  has  neglected  the  true  order  of  chronological  arrangement 
which  is  preserved  by  the  other  Evangelists. 

This  opinion  did  not  wholly  originate  with  Richardson;  for 
thirty  years  before  his  time,  Thomas  Cartwright,  professor  of 
theology  in  Cambridge,  had  published  a  Harmony,  in  which  he 


PREFACE.  Vll 

follows  the  order  of  Mark,  and  transposes  Matthew  and  Luke  to 
the  onier  of  Mark's  arrangement.  However,  as  the  hypothesis 
of  Richardson  obtained  favour  in  the  eyes  of  Le  Clerc,  lie  ap- 
plauded the  new  discovery,  and  layinj^  hold  on  the  word  Kuhlm, 
in  the  preface  of  Luke,  maintained  the  clironological  accuracy  of 
this  Evangelist,  as  the  standard  to  which  the  otlicr  Evangelists 
should  be  reduced.  In  this  opinion,  he  lias  been  too  closely  fol- 
lowed by  \Vliisto;i,  Bedford,  Calmcnt,  Newcome  and  Eichhorn. 

A  little  attention  to  the  w  ritings  of  the  Evangelists,  will  ena- 
ble any  man  to  perceive,  that  Matthew  collects  many  sayings  of 
Christ  in  the  composition  ot  the  sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  ac- 
cording to  Luke,  were  delivered  on  different  occasions.  On  the 
othei  hand.  Luke,  b>  a  stange  prolepsis,  connects  the  death  of 
the  Baptist  vv  ith  the  commencenient  of  his  oublic  ministry.  It  is 
now  nearly  agreed  among  harmonists,  that  from  the  twenty- 
second  verse  of  tiie  fourth  chapter,  to  the  thijtecnth  of  the  four- 
teenth chapter,  Mattliew  has  dcj.artcd  from  true  chroni»i:»gical 
order,  in  which  aberration,  he  has  not  been  followed  by  any  of 
the  other  Evangelists. 

From  the  most  accurate  account  of  the  times  in  which  the  dif- 
ferent Gospels  were  published,  we  can  form  the  most  reasonable 
conjecture  concerning  the  comparative  accuracy  of  their  chrono- 
logical order.  As  the  three  first  Gospels  were  published  during 
the  life  time  of  some  of  the  apostles,  there  would  be  time  and  op- 
portunity to  correct  mistakes,  and  each  Evangelist  would  natur- 
ally improve,  by  the  previous  publication  ofil'e  other.  INow  as 
the  most  accurate  criticism  confirms  the  most  j»ncieut  testimony, 
that  Matthew  wrote  first,  and  Mark  last  of  the  three,  it  fellows, 
as  an  indisputable  fact,  that  Mark  is  the  most  accurate,  and 
Matthew  the  most  negligent  historian. 

The  chief  step  towards  the  construction  of  a  regular  chrono- 
logical history  from  the  four  Evangelists,  is  to  ascertain  the 
number  of  passovers,  which  happened  between  the  b^piiam  and 
crucifixion  of  Christ.  The  early  christian  fathers  held  that  our 
Lord's  public  ministry  lasted  only  one  year,  during  which  he  at- 
tended two  passovers :  but  Eusebius  first  discovered  notices  of 
Jour  passovers,  in  the  Gospel  of  John ;  and  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
and  Joseph  Scaliger  were  so  great  Improvers  of  the  calendars  as 
to  descry  even  a  fifth,  whilst  Tatian,  Comester,  Ludolphus, 
Burmann,  and  Priestley  have  not  been  able  to  perceive  more 
than  two  passovers,  mentioned  in  the  second  and  thirteenth  chap- 
ters. The  opinion,  therefore,  of  Eusebius,  Newton,  and 
Scaliger,  being  unsupported  by  any  testimony,  either  scriptural 
or  ecclesiastic,  must  be  rejected. 


VIII  PREFACE. 

A  second  source  of  iiifonnation  concerninji^  the  chronolo^yiral 
order  of  the  Evanajclical  History,  arises  from  attention  to  (»nr 
Master's  discourses.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  Archhishof)  New- 
come,  have  shown,  that  our  Lord  made  frequent  allusions  to 
present  and  surrounding  objects.  Hence  they  conclude,  that  it 
was  winter,  when,  passing  through  Samaria,  lie  said,  four  months 
and  then  comes  the  harvest ;  Seed  time  when  h**  pronounced  the 
parable  of  the  sower;  and  spring  when  he  delivered  tl»e  sermon 
on  the  Mount  and  alluded  to  the  lilies  and  grass  of  the  field. 

THE   TRANSLATION. 

In  attempting  a  new  version  of  the  sacred  Text,  I  have  not 
been  induced  to  deviate  from  the  received  English  translation 
through  dislike  or  desire  of  innovation  ;  but  as  far  as  possible, 
I  have  carefully  endeavoured  to  ascertain  the  original  words  of 
the  Evangelists.  To  this  end  I  have  had  continually  before  me, 
both  the  Halle  and  London  editions  of  Griesbach,  the  editions  of 
Wetstein  and  Bengel,  and  the  Ancient  Syriac  and  Latin  Yul- 
gate. 

Whilst  translating,  I  have  studiously  avoided  the  extremes  of 
a  mere  verbal  and  loose  paraphrastic  version,  being  desirous  of 
exhibiting  the  spirit  of  the  original,  without  redundance  or  de- 
ficiency of  words.  Moreover  as  a  strictly  literal  rendering  of 
idiomatical  phrases,  is  subversive  of  the  sense  of  an  author,  care 
has  been  taken  to  discover  the  Hebi-ew  or  Hellenistic  idioms, 
and  to  give  their  literal  sense,  agreeably  to  the  genius  ot  the  En- 
glish language.  For  this  purpose,  continual  reference  has  been 
made  to  the  best  writers  on  Biblical  Hermeneutics.  and  to  the 
translations  of  Wakefield,  Campbell,  Beza,  Beausobre,  and 
De   Sacy. 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  particles  which,  in  the  original,  are 
often  merely  expletive,  has  been  carefully  obviated,  or  that  di- 
versity of  signification,  of  which  they  are  susceptible  in  the  Greek, 
has  been  observed  in  this  translation  :  and  when  I  have  had  oc- 
casion to  encounter  the  delicate  task  of  forming  (fne  narrative  out 
of  two  or  threCi  such  phraseology  has  been  adopted,  as  combines, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  the  very  words  of  the  sacred  writers,  with- 
out addition  or  retrenchment. 


MONOTESSARON. 


PART   FIRST, 

Containing  the  history  of  Christ's  nativity^  and  Mb 
public  ministry,  to  the  death  of  the  Baptist, 


SECTION  FIRST. 

Introduction. 


Whereas    many*   have   undertaken   to   compose  a 
history  of  those  facts  which  have  been  fully  accredit- 

*  Seeing  Luke  informs  us,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  chapter, 
that  the  people  pressed  on  Jesus  to  hear  the  word  of  God,  we 
should  not  be  surprised  that  many  would  take  memorandums  of  what 
they  heard,  and  also  that  frequent  inquiries,  should  be  made  con- 
cerning the  doctrines  and  miracles  of  Jesus.  These  detached  me- 
morandums would  be  soon  compiled  into  a  history,  which  would  be 
more  or  less  accurate  and  authentic,  according  to  the  fidelity  with 
which  the  particulars  were  collected,  and  the  wisdom  and  propriety 
with  which  they  were  arranged.  These  memorandums  constituted 
the  foundation  of  the  Gospel  History,  and  to  them  the  Evangelists 
were  much  indebted  for  the  various  and  numeious  narratives  of 
which  their  own  histories  are  composed.  But  as  many  reports,  not 
founded  on  facts,  would  also  obtain  circulation,  and  each  being  de- 
sirous of  rendering  his  history  as  complete  as  possible,  we  cannot  be 
surprised  at  the  number  of  imperfect  and  spurious  books  which  ob- 
tained, during  the  first  ages  of  the  Christian  Church.  We  have, 
therefore,  abundant  reason  for  gratitude  to  the  kind  Providence  of 
Almighty  God,  who  inspired  so  suitable  and  worthy  a  man  as  Luke, 
to  undertake  the  assiduous  and  laborious  work  of  making  an  accurate 
and  orderly  compilation  of  the  Gospel  History,  for  the  instruction, 
comfort,  and  satisfaction  of  the  Church  of  Christ  through  all  suc- 
ceeding ages. 

Three  Hypotheses  have  been  suggested  to  account  for  the  singu- 
lar coincidences  of  language,  which  are  found  in  the  three  first  Gos- 
pels. First.  7'he  Evangelists  copied  from  each  other.  This  was 
the  opinion  of  Grotius,  Wetstein,  Mill,  Owen,  Townson,  Hales, 
Harwood,  and  Griesbach. — Second.  The  Evangelists  copied  from 
one  common  document,  which  contained  those  passages  that  are  si- 

% 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

c(l*  amoaa;  us,  even  as  they,  who  were  eye-witnesses 
and  ministers  of  tlie  Logos,!  delivered  them  to  us  :  it 
seemed  good    to   mej  also,    having  accurately  traced 

milar.  This  Hypothesis  was  adopted  by  Le  Clerc,  Lessing,  Mi- 
chaelis,  and  Eichhorn.  Third.  The  Gospels  loere  compiled  from 
memorandums  of  Chrisfs  discourses,  taken  by  his  auditors.  There 
can  be  no  difficulty  in  uniting  these  three  Hypotheses  ;  for  suppose 
Matthew  compiled  his  Hebrew  Gospel  from  detached  memorandums ; 
this  Hebrew  Gospel  would  be  a  common  document  for  Luke,  Mark 
and  Matthew's  translator :  Luke  might  copy  Matthew,  Mark  copy 
Luke,  and  Matthew's  translator,  would  occasionally  copy  both  Luke 
and  Mark. 

*  Though  the  original  word,  ?r£5rPni»e(^of  jjfttvwv,  signifies  to  be  per- 
suaded, or  accomplished,  I  have  chosen  the  term,  accredited,  as  the 
best  calculated  to  express  the  meaning  of  the  Evangelists,  and  the 
general  import  of  the  translators  and  commentators  on  this  passage. 
All  the  events  of  the  Gospel  History  were  so  well  attested,  and  the 
predictions  of  the  ancient  prophets  so  fully  accomplished,  in  the  life 
and  ministry  of  our  blessed  Master,  that  the  whole  vocabulary  of 
the  Greek  and  English  languages  cannot  aftbrd  more  appropriate 
words  to  express  the  meaning  of  the  saci'ed  historian,  than  those 
which  have  been  selected.  All  the  facts  were  so  notorious  and  pub- 
lic, as  to  be  well  and  powerfully  attested  by  many  thousands,  who 
had  no  other  inducement,  than  the  love  of  truth  and  sincerity,  to  bear 
testimony,  even  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  to  the  wonderful  works  of 
God.  Hence  the  Gospel  is  supported  by  an  accumulation  of  evi- 
dence, which  frowns  into  shame  and  disrepute,  every  attack  of  infi- 
delity and  unbelief. 

tThe  word  Logos  is  here  used  as  an  appellative,  to  denote  Jesus 
Christ,  whose  name  is  the  Logos  of  God,  Rev.  19.  13.  Such  was 
the  opinion  of  Origen,  Athanasius,  Gomarus,  Cameron,  Capellus, 
Witzius,  Wolf,  and  Calovius.  As  John  has  used  this  word  in  his 
introduction  to  denote  that  being  who  holds  the  second  rank  in  the 
Universe,  I  have  not  translated  the  term,  believing  that  no  word,  in 
the  modern  languages,  adequately  expresses  the  sense  affixed  to  the 
word  Logos,  by  Philo  and  the  Platonic  philosophers,  and  afterwards 
adopted  by  Paul  and  John.  In  support  of  this  opinion,  I  adduce 
the  authority  of  Lactantius,  the  Cicero  of  the  Christians.  "  The 
Greeks  use  the  term  Logos,  more  appropriately  than  we  can  word 
or  discourse;  for  their  Myoi  signifies  both  reason  and  discourse,  be- 
cause it  is  both  the  wisdom  and  voice  of  God. " 

J  The  attentive  reader  cannot  but  observe  the  inconsistency  of 
Luke's  preface  with  the  supposition  of  supernatural  instruction.  As 
an  honest,  careful,  and  accurate  historian,  he  collects,  with  assiduity 
and  scrupulous  exactness,  from  the  most  authentic  sources,  and 
having  cautiously  examained  the  claims  of  the  various  narratives,  he 
selects  the  genuine  from  the  fabulous,  and  compiles  an  exact  and 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

every  thing  from  its  origin,  to  write  distinctly  to  thee, 
most  excellent  Theophilus,  that  thou  mayest  know  the 
certainty  of  those  doctrines,  concerning  which  thou  hast 
received  instruction.* 

In  the  beginning  existed  the  Logos,!  and  the  Logos 

well  digested  compend  of  the  history  of  our  Lord's  life,  doctrines, 
and  miracles,  which  has  been  so  highly  esteemed  and  admired  by  all 
Christians,  that  even  those,  who  rejected  all  the  other  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  acknowledged  and  believed  the  Gospel  by  Luke. 
Indeed,  of  all  who  undertook  a  history  of  our  Lord,  none  was  so  em- 
inently qualified  as  this  Evangelist.  Brought  up  at  Antioch,  the 
capital  of  Syria,  being  well  instructed  in  the  language,  manners, 
and  religion  of  the  Jews,  an  attendant,  for  some  time,  on  our  Lord's 
ministry,  and  a  constant  companion  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  he  mani- 
fests a  variety,  energy,  and  method  in  his  history,  not  to  be  found  in 
the  productions  of  the  other  Evangelists,  so  that  the  mere  tyro  in 
Greek  cannot  even  look  into  hb  preface,  without  being  convinced  of 
the  superiority  of  his  style  and  education. 

*  From  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  the  excellent 
method  of  communicating  religious  instruction  by  catechising,  ob- 
tained, and  has  been  long  and  successfully  practised  ;  but,  alas  ! 
how  inattentive  and  contumelious  are  many  parents  and  ministers  to 
this  important  duty,  by  neglect  of  which  the  people  perish  through 
lack  of  knowledge.  In  the  early  age  all  were  catechised  before  ad- 
mitted to  the  privileges  of  the  Church  ;  there  was  no  exception  on 
account  of  age  or  station.  Theophilus,  a  Grecian  nobleman,  had 
been  catechised,  in  the  elements  of  the  Christian  religion,  on  his 
conversion  to  the  faith  of  Jesus,  but  Luke  would  have  him  well  in- 
structed, rooted,  and  grounded  in  that  holy  faith,  that  he  might  arrive 
to  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  No  wonder,  that  so 
many  professors  are  so  easily  tossed  about  with  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine, when  their  religious  instruction  is  so  superficial  and  unsatisfac- 
tory. Let  every  man,  who  regards  his  present  and  eternal  station  in 
the  works  of  God,  and  prefers  the  rank  of  an  intelligent  to  a  mere 
animal  existence,  cultivate  the  most  intimate  accquaintance  with  the 
sacred  oracles,  ever  reflecting,  that  whilst  the  things  of  time  pass 
away,  and  even  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God, 
the  Holy  Scriptures  are  able  to  make  wise  to  salvation,  through  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

t  What  John  has  said  of  the  Logos  in  this  introduction  has  occasion- 
ed greater  perplexity  to  the  commentators,  than  any  other  part  of  the 
Gospel  History,  probably  on  account  of  the  obscurity  that  hangs 
over  the  design  of  the  writer.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  John,  without  the  supposition  that  he  wrote  as  a  The- 
ologian, to  correct  some  errors  of  his  time.  Hence  Michaelis  and  many 
others  have  followed  Ireneas,  in  the  opinion  tliat  John  wrote  to  re- 


IS  INTRODUCTION. 

was  with  God,  and  the  Logos  was  a  god.  This  same 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God  :  all  things  were  made 
by  him,  and  without  him  not  one  thing  came  into 
being  :  That  which  was  accomplished  in  him,  was  life, 

fute  the  errors  of  the  Gnostics  and  other  heretics,  who  arose  in  the 
apo!",:)lic  age,  and  used  Logos,  Life,  Light,  Truth,  Favour,  Only- 
begotten  as  names  of  subordinate  deities.  Le  Cleix  believed  that 
John's  design  was  not  so  much  to  controvert  the  peculiar  notions  of 
his  tune,  as  to  show  the  Christians  in  what  sense  these  terms  should 
be  understood,  and  prevent  mistakes  arising  from  the  doctrines  of 
Plato  and  Philo.  I  think  by  comparing  the  introduction  of  John 
with  the  opinions  of  his  time,  there  will  be  no  reason  to  differ  essen- 
tially from  either  Michaelis  or  Le  Clerc. 

J .  John  asserts  that  the  Logos  was  ivith  God  in  the  beginning.  In 
this  proposition  John  does  not  affirm  that  the  Logos  was  eternal,  nor 
that  he  was  created  in  the  beginning ;  but  only,  that  at  the  time  this 
woricl  was  formed,  the  Logos  then  existed.  Now  if  we  compare 
the  writings  of  Plato,  Philo  and  the  Philosophers  in  general,  we'shall 
find  a  double  sense  attached  to  the  word  Logos.  The  Jirst  merely 
conceplual  or  ideal,  being  nothing  more  than  a  personiftcation  of  the 
wisdom  or  mind  of  the  Deity.  The  second  personal  or  substantial, 
being  the  appellative  of  the  Son  of  God,  when  he  became  a  real  per- 
sonal existence.  Hence  the  distinction  of  the  internal  sinA  external 
Logos.  Whitby  says:  "The  primitive  Fathers  very  plainly  and 
frequently  affirm,  that  the  Logos  was  strictly  from  all  eternity,  in 
the  Father,  but  was  produced  or  emitted  before  the  creation  of  the 
world.  "  In  proof  of  which  position  he  cites  Justin,  Athenagoras, 
Theophilus,  TertuUian,  Tatian,  and  Lactantius ;  and  refers  to  Bull's 
Defence  of  the  Nicean  Creed. 

Theodoret  and  Augustine  are  quoted  by  Cornell  a  Lapide,  in 
proof  that  Orpheus  and  many  of  the  Greek,  Chaldean,  and  Egyp- 
tian philosophers  called  the  supreme  God,  Nous  or  Mind,  and  his 
word,  the  offspring  of  the  Mind,  they  denominated  Logos.  Let  us 
hear  TertuUian,  in  his  Apology,  addressing  the  heatfien  philosophers : 
*'  You  philosophers  yourselves,  admit  that  the  Logos,  the  rt'orrf  and 
reason,  was  the  creator  of  the  Universe ;  the  Christians  merely  add: 
that  the  proper  substance  of  the  t«or  J  and  reason,  is  spirit',  that  this 
word  must  have  been  pronounced  by  God,  and  when  pronounced,  it 
was  generated,  and,  consequently,  it  is  the  Son  of  God.  "  "  Thought, 
says  Bossuet,  which  we  feel  produced  as  the  offspring  of  our  minds, 
as  the  son  of  our  understanding,  gives  us  some  idea  of  the  Son  of 
God ;  for  this  reason,  this  Son  of  God,  assumes  the  name  of  the 
Word,  to  intimate  that  he  was  produced  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
as  the  inward  voice  arises  in  our  souls  when  we  contemplate  truth.  " 

John  Benedict  Carpsove  and  Professor  Paulus,  of  Jena,  have  shown 
that  besides  the  merely  conceptual  Logos,  which  was  allowed  to  have 
always  existed  in  the  Father,  Philo  and  many  of  the  Jews  and  philo- 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

and  this  life  was  the  light  of  men.  And  this  light  shines 
in  darkness  and  the  darkness  does  not  prevent  it.  That 
was  the  true  light,  which  coming  into  the  world,  enligh- 
tens every  man.     He  was  in  the  world,  and  by  him  the 

sophers,  attached  the  notion  o{ personal  subsistence  to  the  Logos. — 
Dr.  X.  Clarke,  on  this  passage,  says  :  "  after  a  serious  reading  of  the 
Targums,  it  seems  to  me  evident,  that  the  Chaldee  term  mcmra  or 
word,  is  used  personally  in  a  multitude  of  places,  and  to  attempt  to 
give  the  word  any  other  meaning  in  various  places,  would  be  flat 
opposition  to  every  rule  of  construction.  "  There  is  therefore  one 
principle,  in  which  Philosophers,  Learned  Jews,  and  the  primitive 
Christian  fathers  were  united  :  From  all  eternity  the  Logos  existed, 
not  personally,  but  as  the  reason  and  voice,  or  mind  and  ivord  of 
God,  but  before  the  creation  or  commencement  of  time,  Jehovah 
begot,  or  produced  this  ivord  as  a  personcd  existence,  his  Son.  In 
this  latter  sense,  the  Logos  is  here  introduced  by  John,  as  existing 
with,  not  in  God,  at  the  beginning  of  time  and  creation ;  and  hence 
John  plainly  teaches  the  personal  pre-existence  of  Christ,  as  appears 
manifest  from  the  whole  scope  of  the  passage,  and  several  parts  of 
his  Gospel.  The  word  beginning,  therefore,  has  the  same  import 
here  as  in  Gen.  1.  1.  j  and  to  interpret  it  to  mean  the  beginning 
of  the  Gospel,  is  to  divest  the  whole  passage  of  force  and  meaning  ; 
for  what  propriety  could  there  be  in  saying,  Jesus  existed  when  he 
began  to  preach  ?  None  !  Therefore  John  says  the  Logos  had  life  in 
him  before  he  became  man. 

2.  The  Logos  was  a  god.  John  does  not  teach  that  the  Logos 
was  God,  in  the  absolute  sense  of  the  term  ;  but  in  a  subordinate 
sense.  Those  who  contend  for  the  supreme  deity  of  the  Logos,  as- 
sert that  the  construction  of  the  Greek,  is  such  as  warrants  their  con- 
clusion; for  say  they,  the  word  God,  being  the  predicate  of  the  pro- 
position, should  not  have  the  article.  Admitting  this,  we  say,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  had  John  intended  to  say  the  Logos  was  a  god, 
no  other  form  of  expression  could  have  been  used,  than  that  found  in 
the  original  text:  whereas  had  he  intended  to  say  the  word  is  the  su- 
preme God,  he  could  have  used  a  different  form,  and  have  said  o  6eof 
Yit  0  A«y«?.  Thus  Origen,  on  this  passage  says  :  "  when  the  word 
God  is  used  to  denote  the  self-existent  being  who  is  the  author  of  the 
Universe,  John  places  the  article  before  it,  but  withholds  the  article 
when  the  Logos  is  called  God."  Eusebius  contra  Marcellum  de  ec- 
cles.  Theol.  L.  11,  17,  observes  that  "  the  article  is  here  omitted, 
that  the  Evangelist  might  teach  a  distinction  between  the  Father  and. 
the  Son ;  otherwise  he  might  have  said  «  6e»i  tiv  o  Xoyci,  had  he  intend- 
ed to  call  the  Father  and  the  Son  the  same  being."  See  the  lirst  of 
these  quotations  in  RosenmuUer,  and  the  latter  in  Lampe,  on  this 
passage.  Epiphanius  also,  cited  by  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  observes 
that  iif  we  say  o  6eoi,  God  with  the  article,  we  niean  the  living  and 
true  God,  but  if  we  say  Sso?,  God  without  the  article,  we  mean  a 


l-i  INTRODUCTION. 

world  was  made,  yet  this  world  did  not  acknowledge 
him.  He  came  to  his  own,  but  his  own  people  did  not 
receive  him  :  to  as  many,  however,  as  received  him,  by 
believing  in  his  name,  he  gave  power  to  become  chil- 

heathen  god.  Hence  the  ablest  Greek  critics  among  the  ancient  fa- 
thers, who  knew  an  hundred  fold  more  about  the  construction  and 
usage  of  the  language  than  the  modern  critics,  say  John  could  have 
used  the  article  in  this  phrase,  had  he  intended  to  designate  the  Lo- 
gos as  the  supreme  God. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  follow,  that  John  used  the  word 
God,  when  characteristic  of  the  Logos,  in^a  subordinate  and  relative 
sense  ;  and  this  he  might  do,  either  as  a  Jew,  following  the  usage  of 
the  holy  Scriptures,  or  in  imitation  of  the  Grecian  philosophers. 
The  Hebrew  Scriptures  use  the  term  God  to  denote  beings  of  the  An- 
gelic order.  Compare  Psalm  97.  7,  with  Heb.  1.  6.  Thus  also  in 
Psalm  86.  8,  where  the  Hebrew  says,  "there  is  none  among  the 
gods  like  unto  thee,"  the  Chaldaic  version  says,  there  is  none 
among  the  angels  of  heaven  like  unto  thee."  Jesus  tells  the  Jews, 
"  the  law  called  them  gods  to  whom  the  word  of  God  came.  John 
10.  35.  Hence  we  see  the  term  god,  used  in  the  scriptures,  in  a 
subordinate  sense;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  so  used 
in  this  introduction ;  for  John  could  not  intend  to  say  the  Logos 
was  the  same,  as  the  God  in  whose  presence  he  was. 

3.  All  things  animate  or  inanimate  were  made  by  the  Logos. 
Against  this  proposition,  two  objections  are  made.  1.  That  out  of 
about  300  instances,  where  the  preposition  dia  with  a  genitive  occurs, 
in  the  New  Testament,  not  more  than  three  can  be  found  to  denote 
the  first  or  efficient  cause  :  but  uniformly  this  construction  marks 
the  instrumental  cause  of  an  action.  Consequently  the  Father, 
and  not  the  Son,  is  the  Creator.  2.  The  verb  eyiuro  never  signifies 
to  create.  Now  both  these  objections  may  be  admitted,  in  their 
full  force  and  extent,  and  yti  the  proposition  ;  That  all  things  were 
made  by  the  Son,  be  true  and  perfectly  maintainable.  The  ancient  phi- 
losophers, as  well  as  many  very  eminent  modern  writers  on  Cosmo- 
gony, have  maintained  a  two-fold  creation,  or  rather  a  creation  and 
formation.  A  creation,  strictly  so  named,  in  which  the  elements 
of  things  are  called  from  nonentity  into  being  :  a  formation,  by 
which  things  receive  their  figure  and  adaptation  for  their  destined 
use,  in  actual  being :  The  first  may  be  called  a  creation  of  essence, 
the  second  of  forms  of  being.  It  is  readily  granted,  that  the  scrip- 
tures uniformly  describe  the  Father  as  acting  through  the  agency 
of  his  Son :  and  if  John  contemplated  the  agency  of  the  Logos  in  the 
formation  of  things,  his  words  and  phrases  are  well  adapted  to  ex- 
press his  meaning  with  caution  and  perspicuity.  "  What  part  be- 
longed to  the  Son  in  Creation,  says  Rosenmuller,  no  mortal  should 
dare  to  explain.  The  Ancients  thus  understood  and  believed  ;  that 
the  Father  was  the  disposer  of  all  things,  but  that  in  finishing  what 
he  had  disposed,  he  used  the  agency  of  his  Son."     Lactantius  de 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

dren  of  God ;  who  were  not  begotten  of  blood,  nor  of 
concupiscence,  nor  by  the  desire  of  the  male,  but  of 
God. 

This  Logos  became  incarnate,  and  tabernacled  among 

Sapien.  L.  4,  C.  9,  says,  the  philosophers  were  not  ienorant  of  the 
Logos,  for  even  Zeno  denominates  the  maker  anil  disposer  of  the 
world,  Logos.  Philo,  de  Mundi  Opificio,  says,  when  the  Deity  de- 
creed to  form  this  mighty  globe,  he  conceived  the  forms  thereof,  and 
afterwards  constituted  this  intelligent  world  after  the  model  he  had 
conceived :  and  if  it  please  any  one  to  speak  more  openly,  this  ar- 
chetype of  the  intelligible  world,  this  idea  of  ideas  was  the  Word  of 
God."  Hence  the  philosophers  of  that  time  and  some  of  the  Fathers, 
even  Origen  andAugustine,  held  the  Son  to  be  an  intermedium,  if  I 
may  so  say,  between  the  Deity  and  the  material  world ;  as  if  some  being 
more  nearly  connected  with  creation,  than  the  eternal  spirit,  should 
be  the  agent  in  the  formation  of  things.  The  Apostle  Paul  expressly 
declares  all  things  visible  and  invisible  were  created  in  the  Son,  and 
by  his  agency,  and  for  his  use.  Col.  1.  16.  And  again:  by  him 
God  made  the  worlds,  Heb.  1.  2.  I  know  it  is  objected  that  the 
word  uiSvcii  should  be  translated  ages,  but  this  need  not  be  granted  ; 
for  the  same  term  is  used  in  chap.  11.  3,  of  this  epistle,  to  signify  the 
material  world :  and  Michaelis  observes,  in  his  notes  on  Pierce's 
Commentary,  that  the  Jews,  in  their  most  solemn  acts  of  devotion, 
address  God  as  the  Creator  of  the  ages  ;  doubtlessly  meaning  by  the 
term  ages^  this  system  of  the  Universe.  The  Apostle  Paul  and  the 
Evangelist  John,  therefore,  clearly  unite  in  the  sentiment  of  the 
philosophers  of  their  times,  in  ascribing  the  formation  of  all  things 
to  the  Son  of  God,  and  hence  they  place  him  before  all  things,  for 
this  very  reason.  Surely  there  can  be  no  more  impossibility  in 
Christ's  agency  in  the  forming  of  this  world  and  man  upon  it,  than 
in  his  raising  the  dead,  calming  the  winds,  and  suspending  the  action 
of  nature's  laws.  John  tells  us  the  world  was  made  by  the  Logos. 
In  this  we  believe  him;  but  let  those  who  say  the  world  was  not 
made,  but  only  reneioed  or  enlightened  by  the  Logos,  account  for  the 
inconceivable  ignorance  or  wickedness  of  this  enlightened  and  re- 
newed world,  in  not  knowing  or  acknowledging  the  Son  of  God  ! 

4.  The  Logos  pre-existed  personally,  before  the  world,  and  having 
derived  his  being  and  fullness  from  the  Father  became  the  author  of 
life  and  all  its  benefits  to  mankind.  John  1.  3 — 12.  That  which  was 
accomplished  in  the  Logos  was  life.  This  is  life  causal  and  superna- 
tural :  the  spring  of  life  temporal,  and  inexhaustible  source  of  im- 
mortal and  spiritual  life.  John  having  described  the  formation  of 
all  things  by  the  Logos,  proceeds  to  notice  the  most  important  par- 
ticulars, not  as  posterior  transactions,  but  as  subjects  of  reiterated 
attention.  The  time,  when  life  was  produced  in  the  Logos,  was 
that  in  which  it  passed  from  its  conceptual,  to  its  substantial  state  of 
being.     The  time  when  the  wisdom  and  vvord  of  the  Deity  became 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

US  ;  and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  of  an  Only-be- 
gotten from  the  presence  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth  ;  for  out  of  his  fulness,  we  have  all  received  grace 
instead  of  grace.     For  the  law  was  given  by  Moses, 

incorporated,  in  the  person  of  his  only-begotten,  the  firstborn  of  the 
whole  creation.  Col.  i.  15.  By  this  act  of  generation  or  forma- 
tion, the  Father  gave  to  the  Son  the  inconceivable  power  or  prero- 
gative of  having  life  in  himself.  Hence  Jesus  says,  "I  live  by  the 
Father.  The  Father  has  given  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself.  I 
came  that  ye  might  have  life  more  abundantly.  Ye  will  not  come 
unto  me  that  ye  might  have  life.  He  that  believes  on  the  Son  has 
life,  but  he  that  believes  not  on  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life."  From 
these  and  similar  passages,  we  conclude,  that  as  all  beings  received 
life  from  the  Son,  at  first,  whereby  they  perceive  the  light  of  this 
world,  and  perform  certain  transactions  in  it,  so  every  intelligent 
being  must  receive  spiritual  and  immortal  life  by  the  faith  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  spiritual  union  with  him,  or  without  doubt  perish 
everlastingly.  Hence  men,  who  have  forfeited  their  claims  to  life 
by  sin,  must  have  that  claim  renewed  by  faith  and  repentance,  or 
suffer  eternal  death  in  annihilation  of  being.  That  this  life  was 
given  to  the  Logos  before  the  world  was,  is  clear  from  the  context; 
for  John  describes  the  accomplishment  of  life  in  him,  before  he  be- 
came man,  or  tabernacled  among  men.  So  that  those  who  imagine 
the  first  and  second  verses,  are  spoken  of  the  Logos,  in  a  conceptual 
state,  gain  nothing  ;  for  John  plainly  ascribes  life  to  the  Logos,  before 
the  incarnation  ;  and  the  formation  of  the  world  to  him,  in  his  jaer- 
sonal  dinA  substantial  %idii.t  oih^iwg.    Verses  10 — 14. 

The  Logos  was  the  author  of  life  to  man  at  first :  and  when  Man 
had  forfeited  that  life,  it  became  necessary  for  the  Son  of  God  to  ap- 
pear in  our  world  and  die,  that  man  might  live.  This  new  and 
spiritual  life,  however,  is  communicated  to  those  only  who  believe 
and  receive  the  Son.  Thus  in  verse  twelfth :  To  as  many  as  re- 
ceived him,  he  gave  poiver  to  become  the  eons  oj  God.  The  un- 
believer therefore,  who  does  not  receive  by  faith  the  Son  of  God, 
must  inevitably  perish,  in  the  strict  and  proper  sense  of  the  term : 
for  this  is  eternal  life  to  know  or  acknowledge  the  only  true  God, 
and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  has  sent.  They  therefore,  who  know  not 
God,  through  his  Son,  cannot  receive  power  to  become  sons  of  Godj 
neither  can  they  trust  in  his  name,  and  consequently,  cannot  be 
saved,  nor  enter  into  life,  but  without  doubt  must  perish  everlasting- 
ly ;  for  Jesus  gives  the  power  of  becoming  sons  of  God  to  none,  but 
those  who  know,  profess,  and  obey  him. 

5.  The  Logos  was  the  medium  of  all  the  dispensations  of  Jehovah 
to  mankind,  whether  Antedeluvian,  Patriarchal,  Mosaic,  or  Chris- 
tian. In  verse  tenth,  John  asserts  that  the  Logos  was-  in  the  world  j 
and  that  he  came  to  his  own  people,  before  he  says  any  thing  of  his 
incarnation,  verse  fourteenth.    Thus  the  true  light  enlightens  every 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

but  favour  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ.  No  man 
has  seen  God,  at  any  time ;  tlie  Only-begotten,  who  is 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  has  made  him  known. 

man  of  all  ages;  though  the  darkness,  oi'  ungodly  men,  do  not  compre- 
hend nor  perceive  his  divine  illumination.  In  the  Patriarchal  dispen- 
sation the  Logos  frequently  appeared  in  the  form  of  man,  and  as  an 
angel,  speaking  and  acting  in  the  name  and  as  the  representative  of 
Jehovah.  See  the  history  of  the  appearances  to  Abraham  and  Lot, 
Gen.  17  and  18.  He  was  the  angel  of  Jehovah's  presence,  who 
went  before  Israel,  and  whom  they  tempted  in  the  wilderness.  1  Cor. 
10.  9.  The  Mediator  by  whose  hands  the  law  was  given  at  Sinai, 
Acts  7.  53.  and  Gal.  3.  19.  How  appropriate  are  the  words  of 
John,  verse  eighteenth ;  No  man  has  seen  God  at  any  time.  The 
Only-begotten,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  has  made  him 
known.  Thus  the  primitive  Fathers  believed  and  wrote  with  one 
voice.  See  their  sayings  collected  by  Bishop  Bull  and  Dr.  Water- 
land. 

6.  The  Logos,  who  was  with  the  Father  in  the  beginning  and  by 
lohom  all  things  were  made,  became  incarnate,  and  tabernacled 
among  men.  Verse  fourteenth.  No  doctrine  can  be  more  fully  or 
clearly  taught  than  this.  Hear  Christ.  No  man  has  ascended  in- 
to heaven  but  the  son  of  man  who  came  down  from  heaven.  What 
if  ye  see  the  son  of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before.''  Father 
glorify  me  with  the  glory  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was. 
John  3.  13;  6.  38,  62;  and  17.  5.  This  testimony  by  John  is  ful- 
ly confirmed  by  Paul,  when  he  says :  To  us  there  is  but  one  God, 
the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  in  him ;  and  one  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by  him.  Here  a 
learned  Philosopher  and  Apostle  of  Jesus,  asserts  the  origin  of  all 
things  to  be  the  Father,  but  the  existence  of  all  things  is  by  the  Son. 
Addressing  the  Colossians,  he  descrioes  that  Jesus,  through  whose 
blood  we  have  redemption,  as  the  first  born  of  the  whole  creation, 
by  whom  all  things  were  created ;  who  was  before  all  things,  and  by 
whom  all  things  consist.  Col.  1.  14 — 17.  In  the  epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  2.  6 — 11,  he  represents  the  Logos,  as  being  tirst  in  the 
form  of  a  god,  and  afterwards  humbling  himself,  laying  aside  his 
majesty,  and  taking  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  being  found  in  fash- 
ion as  a  man.  This  distinction  between  the  pre-existent  Logos  and 
incarnate  being  called  Christ  Jesus,  he  notifies  to  the  Romans,  in 
his  introduction  to  the  epistle  addressed  to  them,  by  denominating 
Jesus,  the  son  of  David,  according  to  t\\efiesh,  but  the  Son  of  God, 
according  to  the  Spirit.  Now  were  we  at  any  loss  to  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  the  Evangelist  and  the  Apostle,  the  uniform  testi- 
mony of  the  Christian  writers  from  the  days  of  John  and  Paul  should 
suffice.  Hear  then  Clemens  Romanus,  a  writer  cotemporary  with 
the  apostles,     "One  Lord  Christ,  who  saves  us,  who  though  he 

3 


SECTION  SECOND. 

Book  of  the  Nativity.* 

There  was  in  the  days  of  Herod,  King  of  Judea,  a  certain  priest 
named  Zachariah  of  the  course  of  Afjijuh,  and  his  wife  was  of  the 
daughters  of  Aaron,  and  her  name  Elizabeth.  They  were  both  I'ight- 
eous  before  God,  observing  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  Lord  without  blame.  And  they  had  no  child,  for  Elizabeth  was 
barren;  and  they  were  both  advanced  in  years.  Now  it  came  to  pass, 
that  as  he  officiated  before  God,  in  the  order  of  his  course,  he  was 
appointed  by  lot,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  priesthood,  to  enter 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,  to  burn  incense :  and  the  whole  multitude  of 
the  peojjle  was  praying  without,  at  the  time  of  incense.  Then  ap- 
peared to  him  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  standing  on  the  right  side  of  the 
altar  of  incense ;  and  Zachariah  was  troubled  at  the  apparition  and 
fear  fell  on  him.     But  the  angel  said  to  him :   Fear  not  Zachariah, 

wnsjirsf  a  Spirit,  yet  he  became  Jlesh.^^  Ignatius,  in  his  epistle  to 
the  Magnessians,  says,  *' There  is  one  God  who  manifested  himself 
through  Jesus  Christ  liis  Son,  who  is  the  eternal  Logos."  Subse- 
quent writers  need  not  be  here  called  in  evidence.  All  who  know 
any  thing  of  antiquity,  are  well  satisfied,  that  the  incarnation  of  the 
pre-existent  Logos,  is  the  unanimous  testimony  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  of  every  writer  of  any  reputation  belonging  to  that 
Church,  for  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years.  Hence,  I  can  acquit 
the  apostles  and  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  charge  of  being  false 
witnesses  for  Christ  and  advocates  of  heathen  Philosophy,  in  no 
other  way,  but  by  believing  the  pre-existent  dignity  and  subsequent 
incarnation  of  the  Logos,  Jesus  Christ. 

*Book  of  the  Nativity,  BiZxo^  yeviveui.  I  have  taken  this  title 
from  the  first  verse  of  Matthew's  Gospel  according  to  the  generally 
received  Text.  I  regard  it  as  the  title  of  some  small  book,  like  the 
"  Gospel  of  the  Infancy,"  from  which  Matthew  selected  a  part 
or  the  whole  ot  the  two  first  chapters  of  his  Gospel :  or,  it  may  be 
the  title  by  which  he  intended  to  distinguish  the  subject  of  the  two 
first  chapters,  from  the  main  body  of  the  history,  whose  particulars 
he  Avas  fully  qualified  to  attest,  having  been  an  eye  witness.  Mat- 
thew could  not  write  the  history  of  the  miraculous  conception,  the 
visit  of  the  Magi,  the  slaughter  of  the  children  by  Herod,  otherwise 
than  by  selecting  from  some  books  which  treated  of  these  things,  or 
writing  from  report.  Hence  a  reason  arises  why  I  have  thought 
proper  to  pass  unnoticed  in  this  history,  Matt.  1.  17—2.  23,  and  to 
insert  what  Luke  has  written  on  the  same  subject— Luke  positively 
declares  he  wrote  a  narrative  of  those  things  only,  which  he  had 
traced  to  their  origin,  and  had  found  to  be  worthy  of  full  credit. 
This  is  the  reason  he  differs  so  much  from  Matthew,  because  on  ex- 
amination of  a  subject,  the  history  of  which  depended  for  its  autho- 
rity, on  the  veracity  of  Mary  and  some  of  her  acquaintances,  he  no 
doubt  found  some  things  inaccurate,  others  fabulous,  and  a  part  wor- 
thy of  all  acceptation.     We  therefore  give  the  account  of  the  mira- 


BOOK   OP   THE    NATIVITY.  19 

ibrthy  prayer  has  been  heard,  and  thy  wife  Elizabeth  shall  beai'  thee 
a  son  whom  thou  shalt  name  John.  He  shall  be  to  thee,  joy  and  glad- 
ness ;  and  many  shall  rejoice  because  of  his  birth.  For  he  shall  be 
grerit  before  the  Lord:  he  shall  drink  no  wine  nor  strong  liquoi*,  but 
be  filled  with  the  holy  spirit,  eve  n  from  his  mother's  womb :  and  many 
of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  he  turn  to  the  Lord  their  God.  More- 
over, he  shall  go  before  him  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah,  to  re- 
concile fathers  to  their  children,  and  by  the  wisdom  of  the  righteous,  to 
prepare  the  disobedient,  to  be  a  people  well  disposed  for  the  Lord. 
Then  Zachariah  said  to  the  angel :  How  can  I  know  this  ?  for  I  am  an 
old  man,  and  my  wife  is  advanced  in  years  But  the  angel  answering, 
said  to  him  :  I  am  Gabriel,  who  attend  in  the  presence  of  God,  and 
was  s^ent  to  declare  to  thee,  these  glad  tidings.  But  know,  that  thou 
shalt  be  dumb  and  unable  to  speak  till  the  day  in  which  these  things 
shall  be  accomplished,  because  thou  hast  not  believed  my  Avords  which 
shall  be  fulfilled  in  their  season. 

Now  the  people  waited  for  Zachariah  and  wondered  that  he  delayed 
so  long  in  the  temple.  But  when  he  came  out,  he  could  not  speak  to 
them  ;  and  they  perceived  that  he  had  seen  a  vision  in  the  temple  ; 
for  he  was  making  signs  to  them,  whilst  he  remained  silent.  And 
when  the  days  of  his  ministry  were  ended,  he  returned  home.  Now 
after  these  days  Elizabeth  his  wife  conceived,  and  concealed  herself 
five  months,  saying :  Has  the  Lord  done  this  for  me,  and  looked  upon 
me  at  this  time,  to  take  away  my  reproach  among  men  ? 

Now  in  the  sixth  month,*  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  by  God,  to 
Nazareth  a  city  of  Galilee,  to  a  virgin,  espoused  to  a  man  whose  name 

culous  conception  by  Luke,  believing  it  ought  to  be  retained  :  but 
we  have  placed  it  in  a  ditterent  type,  to  indicate,  that  it  cannot  lay 
claim  to  the  same  authority  with  the  rest  of  Luke's  History,  all  the 
facts  of  which,  the  apostles  could  most  surely  certify  as  eye-witnesses. 

I  think  Grotius  and  Le  Clerc  have  well  answered  the  question; 
why  have  the  Evangelists  said  so  little  of  Christ  before  the  beginning 
of  his  Ministry  ?  by  saying  :  It  was  not  the  object  of  the  sacred 
writers  to  relate  the  childhood  and  puerile  transactions  of  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus,  but  to  give' a  faithful  description  of  his  character, 
doctrines,  mission,  death  and  resurrection,  that  the  world  might 
learn  the  doctrine  of  God,  as  revealed  by  him,  and  the  foundation  of 
their  hope  through  him.  It  would  profit  the  world  but  little,  to 
know  how  Jesus  wrought  at  the  trade  of  a  Carpenter  with  his  father; 
but  it  is  all  important,  to  know  how  he  taught  as  the  Son  of  God  and 
Judge  of  the  world  ;  and  how  he  became  a  ransom  for  all,  and  was 
made  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification  and  redemption. 

*  The  time  of  Christ's  birth  has  become  of  late  years,  a  subject 
of  more  than  usual  interest,  on  account  of  the  controversy  about  the 
authority  of  the  two  first  chapters  of  Matthew,  and  the  attempt  of 
chronologers  to  alter  the  common  reckoning  of  the  vulgar  era.  All 
attempts  to  ascertain  the  accuracy  of  ancient  dates  or  historical  facts, 
should  be  made  in  submission  to  the  authority  of  the  ancients,  un- 
less internal  or  contradictory  evidence,  neutralizes  the  strength  of 
the  testimony.     Nor  should  we  feel  ourselves  authorised  to  reject 


so  BOOK   OF    THE    NATIVITY. 

was  Joseph,  of  the  house  of  David ;  and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary 
And  the  angel  entering  in  to  her,  said :  Hail !  favorite  of  Heaven  !  the 
Lord  be  with  thee,  most  blessed  of  women  '  But  she  was  greatly- 
troubled  at  his  saying,  and  reasoned  about  the  meaning  of  such  a  salu- 
tation. Then  the  angel  said  to  her:  Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast 
found  favour  witli  God ;  and  behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  and  bear  a 
son,  whom  thou  shalt  call  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called 
the  Son  of  the  Most  High,  and  the  Lord  God  will  give  him  the  throne 
of  his  father  David.  He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  through 
all  ages,  and  his  kingdom  shall  have  no  end :  Then  said  Mary  to  the 
angel :  How  can  this  be,  seeing  I  have  no  intercourse  with  a  husband? 
The  angel  answered :  A  holy  spirit  will  come  upon  thee,  and  a  power 
of  the  Most  High  shall  overshadow  thee,  and  therefore,  the  holy  off- 
spring shall  be  called  Son  of  God.  And  lo!  Thy  kinswoman  Elizabeth 
has  conceived  a  son  in  her  old  age  and  this  is  the  sixth  month  to  her 
who  was  called  barren;  for  with  God  the  accomplishment  of  every 
word  is  possible.  Then  Mary  said :  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord ! 
be  it  to  me  as  thou  hast  said.     And  the  angel  departed. 

In  those  days  Mary  arose  and  travelled  in  haste  to  a  city  of  Judea, 
in  the  hill  country;  and  entering  the  house  of  Zachariah,  saluted 
Elizabeth.  And  as  soon  as  Elizabeth  heard  Mary's  salutation,  the 
babe  leaped  in  her  womb  :  and  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  a  holy  spirit, 
and  cried  with  a  loud  voice :  Blessed  be  thou  among  women,  and 
blessed  shall  be  thine  offspring.  And  how  happens  this  to  me,  that 
the  mother  of  my  Lord  should  come  to  me.  For  lo  !  as  soon  as  the 
sound  of  thy  salutation  reached  my  ears,  the  babe  leaped  with  joy  in 
my  womb.  And  happy  is  sh?  who  believed,  that  the  things  promised 
from  the  Lord  shall  be  accomplished. 

Then  Mary  said :  My  soul  magnifies  the  Lord  and  my  Spirit  rejoices 
in  God  my  Saviour;  for  he  has  regarded  the  low  condition  of  his  hand- 
maid :  andlo!  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  happy.  Be- 
cause the  Mighty  one  has  done  great  things  for  me,  therefore  hallowed 

the  testimony  of  ancient  historians,  without  the  most  cogent  and 
conclusive  reasoning  to  the  contrary; 

Antonius  Pagi  informs  us,  the  tradition  prevails  at  Alexandria  to 
the  present  day,  that  our  Lord  was  born  in  the  end  of  the  year  of 
Rome  751.  This  tradition  he  observes  must  have  been  very  ancient, 
from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  mentioned  by  Julius  Africanus.  We 
shall  see  from  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  Ireneas  and  Tertullian  that 
this  tradition  is  worthy  of  the  epithet  apostolical. 

Clemens,  who  gives  the  chronology  of  the  Roman  Emperors  down 
to  his  own  time,  about  an  hundred  years  after  the  Gospels  were 
written,  expressly  affirms,  Stromat.  L.  1,  that  Jesus  was  born  in 
the  twenty-eighth  year  of  Augustus,  and  that  he  lived  fifteen  years 
under  that  Emperor's  reign.  Now  of  the  different  dates  assigned 
by  different  historians  to  the  commencement  of  this  Emperor's  reign, 
none  is  more  suitable  than  the  year  of  Rome  724,  when  after  the 
death  of  Cleopatra  and  Antony,  Augustus  made  his  triumphant  en- 
try into  Alexandria.  If  then,  Christ  was  born  in  the  twenty-eighth 
year  of  Augustus,  to  the  year  7'24  add  27,  the  number  of  whole 
years,  and  we  have  751.     Again,  if  Jesus  was  fifteen  years  old  when 


BOOK    OF    THE   NATIVITY.  SI 

be  his  name.  His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  him  to  all  generations. 
He  displays  strength  with  his  arm  and  scatters  the  vain  imaginations 
of  the  proud.  He  casts  down  potentates  from  their  thrones,  and  exalts 
them  that  are  lowly.  He  fills  the  hungry  with  good  things,  but  sends 
the  rich  away  empty.  He  supports  his  servant  Israel,  in  remem- 
brance of  his  everlasting  kindness,  as  he  promised  to  our  fathers,  to 
Abraham  and  his  posterity.  So  Mary  abode  with  her  about  three 
months  and  then  returned  home. 

Now  when  Elizabeth's  full  time  for  delivery  was  come,  she  bear  a 
son  ;  and  her  neighbours  and  kinsfolk  having  heard  of  the  great  kind- 
ness which  the  Lord  had  shown  her,  rejoiced  with  her.  And,  on  the 
eighth  day,  thevcametocircumcisethe  child  and  would  have  called  him 
Zachariah  after  the  name  of  his  father  But  his  mother  said:  Nay  ; 
he  shall  be  called  John.  They  said  to  her:  there  is  none  of  thy  kin- 
dred called  by  th.^t  name.  So  they  made  signs  to  his  father  to  know 
how  he  would  have  him  callei! :  and  heasktd  for  a  writing  table  and 
wrote  :  His  name  is  John.  And  they  all  were  surprized.  And  his 
mouth  was  immediately  opened  and  his  tongue  loosed  :  and  he  spakeUn 
praise  ot  God.  And  fear  came  on  the  whole  neighbourhood  ;  and  the 
fame  of  these  things  sjjread  abroad  '^hrough  all  the  Hill  country  of 
Judea.  And  all  who  heard,  laid  them  up  in  their  hearts,  saying  : 
What  will  this  child  be !  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  him. 

Then  Zachatiah  his  father  was  fuled  with  the  holy  spirit,  and  pro- 
phesied, saying:  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  because  he  has 
visited  and  redeemed  his  people  ;  and  has  raised  up  for  us  a  prince  of 
Salvation,  in  the  house  of  David  his  servant,  as  he  promised  by  the 
mouth  ot  his  holy  prophets  since  this  age  began  ;  a  deliverance  from 
our  enemies  and  the  hand  of  all  that  hate  us;  to  show  mercy  and  re- 
member his  holy  covenant  with  our  fathers,  the  oath  which  he  swoi'e 
to  Abraham  our  father,  that  he  would  grant  us,  being  delivered  from 
the  hands  of  our  enemies,  to  worship  him  in  his  presence  without  fear, 
in  holiness  and  righteousness  all  our  days.  And  thou  child  shall  be 
called  a  prophet  of  the  Most  High  ;  for  thou  shalt  go  before  the  Lord 

Augustus  died,  from  767  the  year  of  Rome  in  which  he  died  take 
fifteen  and  reject  the  months  of  the  current  year,  there  remain  751. 
Ireneas,  L.  3,  C.  25,  says,  "our  Lord  was  born  about  the  forty- 
first  year  of  the  reign  ot  Augustus,"  and  Tertullian,  contra  Judeos, 
C.  8,  concludes  thus  :  "  Hence  we  see,  that  Christ  was  born  in  the 
forty-first  year  of  Augustus."  In  these  dates,  Ireneas  and  Tertul- 
lian do  not  contradict,  but  confirm  the  decision  of  Clemens,  for  they 
reckon  from  the  time  Augustus  was  proclaimed  Triumvir,  with 
Antony  and  Lepidus,  in  the  year  of  Rome  711,  and  third  year  of 
the  Julian  era.  Now  add  40  whole  years  to  these  dates  and  we  have 
the  year  of  Rome  751,  of  the  Julian  era  43,  and  the  forty -first  year 
of  Augustus.  Again  according  to  this  reckoning,  Augustus  reigned 
56  years,  from  which  if  we  take  15,  the  age  of  Jesus  at  the  death  of 
Augustus,  according  to  Clemens,  we  leave  just  41.  Hence  we  see, 
the  testimony  of  these  fathers,  is  complete,  and  harmonious :  and  if 
modern  opinion  or  calculations  are  of  force  to  confirm  ancient  testi- 
mony, we  might  add  the  names  of  Joseph  Scaliger,  Emendat.  Temp. 
2d  ed.  and  the  famous  Catholic  Annalist,  Cardinal  Baronius. 


S2  liOOK    OF   THE    NATIVITY. 

to  prepare  his  way  :  to  give  knowledge  of  salvation  in  the  remission  oi 
their  sins,  through  the  tender  mercy  of  our  God,  in  which  the  morn 
fronr-  on  hii^h  has  shone  upon  us,  to  enlighten  them  who  sit  in  darkness 
and  the  shadow  of  death,  to  guide  our  feet  in  the  way  of  peace.  So  the 
child  grew  and  acquired  strength  of  mind,  and  dwelt  in  the  deserts  till 
the  time  of  his  manifestation  to  Israel. 

About  that  time,  an  edict  was  issued  by  Augustus  Cesar,  that  all 
the  kingdom  should  be  registered;*  (which  register  was  first  accom- 
pl'shtd  when  C'yienms  was  governor  of  Syria,)  and  all  went  to  regis- 
ter themselves,  each  in  his  own  city.  Now  Joseph  went  up  from  Na- 
zareth, a  city  of  Galilee,  to  the  city  of  David  in  Judea,  called  Bethle- 
hem, because  he  was  of  the  house  and  lineage  of  David,  to  be  regis- 
tered, attended  by  Mary  his  espoused  wife,  then  pregnant.  ■  And  it 
came  to  pass,  that  while  they  remained  there,  the  time  came  that  she 
should  be  delivered;  and  she  brought  forth  her  first-born  Son,  and 
haviiig  swathed  him,  she  laid  him  in  a  manger,  because  there  was 
no  room  for  them  in  the  guest  chamber. 

Now  there  were  shepherds  in  that  country,  abiding  in  the  fields  by 
night,  and  watching  their  fiocks:  and  lo  !  an  angel  of  the  Lord  s'-ood 
among  them  and  a  heavenly  glory  shone  around  them :  and  they  were 
greatly  afraid.  But  the  angel  said  to  them  :  Be  not  afraid,  for  behold! 
I  announce  to  you  good-tidings  which  shall  be  great  joy  to  all  the  peo- 
ple ; — because  for  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  ot  David,  a  Saviour, 
who  is  Lord  Messiah.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  to  you.  Ye  shall  find 
a  babe  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger.  And  instantly  there 
was  with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God  and 
saying:  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  goodwill  to  men. 

And  when  the  angels  departed  into  heaven,  the  shepherds  said  one 
to  another :  Let  us  go  even  to  Bethlehem,  and  see  this  thing  that  has 
happened,  which  the  Lord  has  made  known  to  us.  So  they  went  in 
haste,  and  found  Mary  and  Joseph,  and  the  babe  lying  in  a  manger. 
Now  when  they  had  seen,  they  published  abroad  what  had  been  said 
to  them  concerning  this  child;  and  all  who  heard,  wondered  at  the 
things  which  were  told  them  by  the  shepherds.  But  Mary  carefully 
concealed  these  things  deeply,  reflecting  on  them.  And  the  shepherds 
returned,  glorifying  and  praising  God,  for  all  the  things  they  had 
heard  and  seen,  agreeably  to  what  had  been  told  them. 

And  when  eight  days  were  accomplished,  the  child  being  circum- 
cised, was  called  Jesus;  the  name  given  by  the  angel  before  he  was 
conceived.  Also  when  the  days  of  their  purification  were  ended  ac- 
cording to  the  lav/  of  Moses,  theyfcarried  him  up  to  Jerusalem,  to  pre- 

*  This  census,  or  general  register  of  the  kingdom  of  Judea,  has 
occasioned  great  perplexity  to  the  Chronologers  and  Commentators 
of  the  New  Testament,  chiefly  because  Matthew  places  the  birth  of 
Christ  in  the  reign  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  the  words  of  Luke  would 
seem  to  intimate  that  the  census  was  not  taken  till  ten  years  after  the 
death  of  Herod,  when  Cyrenius  was  Governor  of  Syria.  We  have 
avoided  all  the  difficulty,  in  the  translation  which  is  perfectly  agree- 
able to  the  original,  ana  founded  on  the  supposition,  tliat  the  people 
of  the  whole  kingdom  of  Herod  the  Great,  were  registered  after  his 
death,  at  the  time  of  the  partition  of  the  kingdom  among  liis  sons. 

In  explanation  of  this  opinion,  let  it  be  carefully  consiHered  that 


BOOK   OF  THE   NATIVITY.  23 

sent  him  to  the  Lord:  for  thus  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  the  Lord: 
Every  male  child,  nhich  is  the  first  born,  shall  be  consecrated  to  the 
Lord ;  and  a  sacrifice  shall  be  offered  according  to  what  is  said  in  the 
law  of  the  Loid,  a  pair  of  turtle  doves  or  two  young  pigeons.  And  lo  ! 
there  was  at  Jerusalem  a  just  aid  pious  man,  named  Simeon,  who  was 
expecting  the  consolation  of  Israel,  and  the  holy  spirit  was  on  him  : 
And  it  had  been  revealed  to  him  by  the  holy  spirit,  that  he  should  not 
die  till  he  should  see  the  Lord's  Messiah.  This  man  came  in  the  spirit 
into  the  temple,  as  the  parents  brought  in  the  child  Jesus,  that  they 
might  do  for  him  according  to  the  custom  of  the  law ;  and  he  took 
him  in  his  arms  and  blessed  God,  saying,  Now,  Sovereign  Lord,  thou 
causest  thy  servant  to  die  in  peace  according  to  thy  word  ;  for  mine 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,  which  thou  hast  provided  in  the  sight  of 
all  the  people,  a  luminary  to  enlighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of 
th>  prople  Israel. 

Now  whilst  his  father  and  mother  were  wondering  at  the  things 
which  were  spoken  of  him.  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  to  Mary  his 
mother:  Behold  this  child  is  dtjstined  for  the  fall  and  rise  of  many  in 
Israel,  and  a  sign  for  contradiction,  that  the  reasonings  of  many  hearts 
may  be  revealed :  yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thine  own  heart. 

Moreover,  there  was  a  prophetess,  Anna,  a  daughter  of  Phanuel,  of 
the  tribe  of  Asher,  who,  though  advanced  in  age,  being  a  widow  of 
about  eighty-four  years,  had  lived  only  seven  years  with  a  husband 
from  her  virginity  ;  she  departed  not  from  the  temple,  but  wi'h  p.ajer 
and  fasting  worshipped  night  and  day.  This  woman  also,  conmg  in, 
at  the  same  instant,  continued  praising  the  Lord,  and  spoke  concerning 
the  child  to  all  at  Jerusalem,  who  were  expecting  deliverance.  And 
when  they  had  performed  all  things  according  to  the  law  of  the  Lord, 
they  returned  into  Galilee  to  their  own  city  Nazareth.  And  the  child 
grew  and  acquired  strength,  being  filled  with  wisdom,  and  the  grace 
of  God  was  upon  him. 

the  tcill  of  Herod  the  Great  was  left  to  the  arbitration  or  disposal  of 
Augustus,  and  Josephus  tells  us  that  Augustus  delayed  to  decvie.  till 
he  could  know  how  he  might  apportionate  the  kingdom  (>f  Herod  to 
the  support  of  his  sons.  Here  then  t  believe  the  register  was  made. 
Josephus  is  here  our  best  guide:  and  by  coaiparing  what  he  has  said 
in  the  first  book  of  the  Wars,  witli  the  fourteent!^  and  seventeenth 
books  of  his  Antiquities,  we  shall  find,  he  places  the  decree  of  the 
Senate  constituting  Herod  a  king,  in  the  184th  Olympiad,  when 
Calvinus  and  Pollio  were  consuls.  This  was  in  the  end  of  the  year 
of  Rome  713.  Herod  entered  into  possession  of  the  kingdom  of 
Judea,  after  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  and  death  of  Antigorus,  in  rhe 
18oth  Olympiad,  Agrippa  and  Gallus  being  consuls.  This  was  in 
the  year  716. —  Now  Josephus  says,  Herod  died,  having  completed 
37  years  from  the  decree  of  the  Senate,  and  34  from  the  death  of 
Antigonus  and  the  taking  of  Jerusalem.  These  dates  fix  the  end  of 
the  year  750  fo;-  tlie  time  of  Herod's  death.  Moreover  Josephus  snys, 
there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  at  the  time  of  Herod's  last  sick- 
ness. This  eclipse  Astronomers  place  on  the  thirteenth  of  March, 
in  the  year  of  Rome  750.  Again  Josephus  says,  the  battle  of  AcUum 
was  fought  in  the  seventh  year  of  Herod's  reign.  This  was  in  the 
year  of  Rome  723.     Substract  7  aud  add  34,  the  result  will  be  750, 


S*  BOOK   OF   THE   NATIVITY. 

Now  his  pai'ents  went  yearly  to  Jerusalem  at  the  feast  of  the  Pass- 
over. And  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  they  having  gone  up  to 
Jerusalem,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  festival,  and  remained  the 
usual  time,  were  on  their  return,  but  the  child  Jesus  tarried  behind  in 
Jerusalem,  and  his  parents  knew  not;  yet  supposing  h'm  to  be  in  the 
company,  they  went  a  day's  journey,  seeking  him  among  tlieir  rela- 
tions and  acquaintance:  but  not  findmg  him,  they  returned  to  look  for 
him  at  Jerusalem.  And  after  three  days,  they  found  him  in  the  tem- 
ple, sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  Teachers,  both  hearing  them  and  asking 
questions.  And  all  who  heard  him  were  astonished,  but  they  who  saw 
him  were  greatly  amazed  at  his  understanding  and  answerr.  But  his 
mother  said  to  him:  Son  why  hast  thou  done  so  with  us?  Bf^hold  thy 
father  and  I  have  been  seeking  thee  with  sorrow.  Then  he  said  to 
them  :  Why  did  ye  seek  me  ?  Did  ye  not  know,  that  I  ought  to  be  at 
my  Father's?  But  they  did  not  comprehend  his  meaning.  Then  he 
returned  with  them  to  Nazareth,  and  was  subject  to  them,  but  his 
mother  retained  all  these  sayings  in  her  heart.  And  Jesus  grew  in 
wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favour  with  God  and  men. 


SECTION  THIRD. 

The  Preaching  of  the  Baptist. 

The  beginning  of  tbe  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Son 
of  God.  There  came  a  man,  sent  from  the  presence  of 
God,  whose  name  was  John.  The  same  came  as  a 
witness  that  he  might  bear  testimony  concerning  the 
Light,  that  all  through  him  might  believe :  he  was  not 
the  Light,  but  came  to  bear  witness  concerning  the  Light. 

In  the  fifteenth  year^  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar, 
Pontius  Pilate  being  governor  of  .ludea,  and  Herod 
tetrarch  of  Galilee,  and  his  brother  Philip  tetrarch 
of  Iturea  and  the  province  of  Trachonitis,  and 
Lysanias  tetrarch  of  Abilene,  Annas  and  Caiaphas 
being  high  priests,  the  word  of  God  came  to  John,  the 
son  of  Zacliariah,  in  the  wilderness. -f     Now  this  same 

*  This  must  have  been  the  fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius'  sole  tmpire, 
reckoned  from  the  death  of  Augustus,  which  began  Aug.  20th,  year 
of  Rome  781,  of  tlie  Julian  era  73,  of  the  vulgar  Christian  era  28, 
and  of  the  true  A.  D.  30.  Against  this  date,  all  the  subtilty  of  ob- 
jectors, has  been  unable  to  adduce  a  single  solid  argument. 

t  The  desert,  in  which  John  preached,  lay  along  both  sides  of  the 
Jordan,  and  was  not  a  barren  wilderness.  According  to  Lightfoot, 
he  first  taught  near  Hebron,  but  afterwards  removed  towards  Jordan, 
probably  near  Jericho,  a  tract  of  country  called  desert,  but  having 


THE  PREACHING   OP  THE  BAPTIST.  25 

John  wore  raiment  of  camel's  hair,  with  a  leathern 
girdle  about  his  waist,  and  his  food  was  locusts  and 
wild  honey.*  And  he  went  into  all  the  country  about 
the  Jordan,  publishing  a  baptism  of  proselytism,  for 
remission  of  sins :  saying,  Change  your  minds,  for 
the  reign  of  heaven  draws  nigh.f  As  it  is  written 
in  the  book   of  the  sayings  of  Isaiah  the  Prophet ; 


in  it  several  large  cities,  of  which  six  are  mentioned  in  Joshua  xv. 
61,  62.  Jericho  itself  contained  twelve  thousand  men,  of  the  courses 
of  the  priests ;  and  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  that  city,  and  to  Pe- 
rea,  especially  near  the  time  of  the  Passover,  was  frequented  by  great 
multitudes,  about  which  time  John  began  his  ministry.  The  country 
was  very  convenient  for  food,  and  its  vallies  abounded  in  palm-trees, 
which  yield  much  wild  honey.  Hence  John  could  have  a  plentiful 
supply  either  from  the  trees  or  rocks. 

*  In  imitation  of  Elijah,  whom  he  represented,  he  wore  a  garment 
of  camel's  hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle.  2  Kings  i.  8,  and  Mai.  iv.  5. 
The  Jews  used  to  wear  hair  or  coarse  garments,  in  times  of  humilia- 
tion, as  did  also  the  Nazarites,  till  they  had  fulfilled  their  vow,  and  it 
was  also  worn  by  the  prophets  when  the}'  preached  repentance.  See 
IMatt.  vii.  15,  andxi.  2L;  Zech.  xiii.  4;  Is.  xxii.  12;  Jer. iv.  8;  Jonah 
iii.  5,  8  ;  Dan.  ix.  3  ;  Rev.  xi.  3.  Harmer  informs  us,  that  clothing  of 
camel's  hair  is  common  in  that  country  till  the  present  time ;  that 
Jocusts  are  commonly  eaten  in  the  East,  and  allowed  to  be  eaten  by 
the  Jewish  law  ;  Levit.  xi.  22.  Honey  is  plentiful  in  Palestine  ;  de- 
posited in  holes  of  rocks,  by  wild  bees  ;  it  eilso  exudes  from  the  leaves 
of  trees,  and  appears  on  them  as  dew  :  hence,  Jonathan  could  col- 
lect it  with  the  point  of  his  rod.  1  Sam.  xiv.  26 — 29.  Chardin  also 
says  the  Dervises  in  the  East,  wear  garments  of  the  hair  of  camels, 
and  great  leatliern  girdles,  and  sometimes  feed  on  locusts,  svhich,  says 
Dr.  Shaw,  appear  in  great  abundance  from  the  end  of  March,  till 
July;  and  when  sprinkled  with  salt,  and  fried,  taste  like  cray-fish.  It 
was  therefore  on  the  insect,  John  fed,  and  not  on  the  plant  locust. 

+  The  reign  or  kingdom  of  heaven  and  of  God,  imply  the  jsame 
thing.  God  and  Heaven  are  convertible  terms,  in  the  style  of  the 
Hebrews.  Accordingly,  Matthew,  who  wrote  for  the  Jews,  uses  tluj 
phrase  kingdom  of  Heaven  ;  but  Mark  and  Luke  who  wrote  for  the 
Gentiles,  s;iy  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  reigji  of  heaven  is  that  spi- 
ritual dominion  of  the  Messiah  over  the  minds  and  affections  of  man, 
and  the  kingdom  of  heaven  frequently  implies,  the  Christian  church', 
whose  members  are  the  professed  subjects  of  Christ,  and  are  therefore 
represented  as  constituting  that  Kingdom  described  by  Daniel  ii.  4, 
vii.  13.  But  by  a  usual  figure  of  speech,  the  effect  of  the  reign  of 
lieaven  in  man,  is  put  for  the  cause;  Rom.  xiv.  17,  andrighteousnerss, 
joy.  and  peace.  consfittjt<i  tliat  kintrdonij  which  the  rinrego^frale  sic4. 

4 


26  THE  PREACHING  OF  THE  BAPTIST. 

A  voice  of  a  cr)^er*  in  the  desert:  Prepare  the  way  of 
the  Lord,  make  straight  his  paths.  Every  valley 
will  be  filled,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  will  be 
levelled  ;  that  which  is  crooked  will  become  straight, 
the  rough  ways  smooth ;  and  all  mankind  will  behold 
the  salvation  of  Cod. 

Then  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judea, 
and  all  the  country  about  the  Jordan,  resorted  to  him, 
and  were  baptized  by  him,  in  the  Jordan,!  confessing 
their  sins.  But  seeing  many  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  coming  to  his  baptism,  he  said  unto  them : 
Oflspring  of  vipers,  who  has  privately  warned  you  to 
flee  from  approaching  vengeance  ?t  Bear  fruit  then 

wicked  cnn  neither  see,  nor  inherit;  Johu  iii.  3;  1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10  ; 
Gifl.  V.  19,  22. 

O  what  a  blessed  example  has  the  Baptist  left  to  all  the  ministers 
iA'  Christ's  chuich.  Well  aware  that  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  to 
God,  and  that  man  never  can  become  a  fit  subject  of  heaven's  reign, 
till  his  nund  and  soul  are  renewed  after  the  image  of  the  Creator,  the 
first  great  lesson  of  Christian  instruction,  on  which  he  seemed  to 
liwell,  was  a  change  of  mind.  Reader,  this  great  work  is  not  of  man, 
l)ut  of  God.  Jf  thou  hast  not  experienced  this  heavenly  and  divine 
chanire,  cry  to  God  to  grant  you  his  holy  Spirit ;  and  if  you  walk  in 
the  light  of  his  countenance,  lei  the  constant,  fervent  prayer  of  your 
heart  be,  "take  not  from  me  thy  Holy  Spirit." 

*  The  allusion  is  here  made  to  the  practice  of  Eastern  monarchs. 
who.  when  thuy  set  out  on  an  expedition  through  deserts  or  rough 
countries,  sent  messengers  before  them  to  level  or  prepare  their  way. 
Judea  was  the  desvrt  through  which  our  Lord  would  pass,  and  Johu 
WHS  sent  forth  as  his  harbini^er,  to  remove  the  obstructions  which 
niitiht  impede  the  m;>.rch  of  the  Gospel,  arising  from  the  prejudices, 
passions,  or  views  of  mankind. 

t  The  Jordan,  says  Sh.iw,  is  b}'  far  the  largest  river,  except  the 
Nile,  which  I  have  seen  in  Barbary,  or  the  Levant.  It  is  about  30 
yards  wide,  and  three  or  four  deep,  and  so  rapid  as  to  discharge  daily 
into  the  dead  sea,  above  6,000,000  tuns  of  water.  Opposite  Jericho 
was  Beihabara,  or  the  house  of  passage  ;  so  called,  either  because  it 
was  the  place  where  the  Israelites  passed,  or  where  the  common  ferry 
was  kept,  for  passage  to  and  from  Judea. 

J  The  approachiiigvenireance  or  ivrath  to  come,  was  the  destruction 
of  the  Jewish  nation  by  tha  Romans,  wiiich  took  place  about  forty 
years  after  the  preaching  of  John  and  Jesus.  The  axe  being  laid  to 
ihe  root  of  thf  trees,  intimated  that  the  Jews  had  now  their  last  warn- 
ing ;  and  if  ihey  did  not  reform,  ihey  should  be  as  elTectually  do- 


THE  PREACHING  OF  THE  BAPTIST.  2^ 

Suitable  to  a  change  of  mind,  and  begin  not  to  saj- 
withiu  yourselves  :  We  have  Abraham  for  father ;  for 
I  assure  you,  God  is  able,  out  of  these  stones,  to 
raise  up  children  to  Abraham.*  And  even  now  the 
axe  is  laid  at  the  root  of  the  trees,  every  tree,  there- 
fore, which  yields  not  good  fruit,  is  hewn  down,  and 
cast  into  tire.  And  the  multitude  aske^  him.  What 
shall  we  do  then?  He  answered  :  Let  hihi  that  hath 
two  coats  give  to  him  that  has  none,  and  let  him  that 
has  food  do'  Ukewise.  Then  came  also  Tax-collectors 
to  be  baptized,  and  said  to  him,  Teacher,  what  will 
we  do  ?  and  he  said  to  them :  Exact  no  more  than 
what  is  appointed  you.  Then  Soldiers  also  asked 
him  :  What  shall  we  do  ?  and  he  said  to  them :  Injure 
no  man  either  by  violence  or  false  accusation,  and  be 
content  with  your  allowance. 

Now  while  the  people  were  in  expectation,  and  all 
were  reasoning  in  their  hearts  concerning  John,  whe- 
ther he  were  the  Christ,  John  answered  them  all, 
saying :  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water,  but  one 
more  mighty  than  I,  is  coming,  whose  shoe-latchet  I 
am  unworthy  to  loose ;  he  will  baptize  you  with  a  holy 
wind  and  fire  :  his  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  tho- 


stroyed,  as  trees  when  cut  down  and  cast  into  the' fire  ;  thereby  im- 
plying the  most  severe  disciplinary  sufferings  to  which  they  could  be 
exposed. 

*  The  Jews  depend  greatly  on  the  advantages  arising  from  beln<j 
children  of  Abraham,  Muiister  quotes  a  passage  from  the  Talmud, 
in  which  it  is  said,  that  Abraham  sits  at  the  gate  of  Hell,  and  suffers 
none  of  his  descendants  to  enter.  Many  depend  on  similar  claims 
to  the  divine  favour, and  suppose  that  parentage,  orthodox  principles, 
external  forms  of  worship,  or  virtuous  and  benevolent  dispositions, 
will  entitle  them  to  u  place  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  :  but  all 
these  will  fail,  and  prove  deceptive  in  the  day  of  trial.  Nothing  but 
a  renovation  of  soul,  by  the  divine  energies  of  a  redeeming  God,  re- 
storing the  impress  of  the  divine  image,  can  make  man  a  fit  recipient 
of  salvation  and  Heaven.  By  God  being  able  to  raise  up  children  to 
Abraham,  John  intimates  the  callof  the  Gentiles,  and  their  admittance 
to  the  privileges  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  through  the  faith  of 
Jesus,  as  is  also  intimated  by  Paul  when  he  makes  exception,  saying: 
In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.     Rom.  ix.  7. 


tBp  the  preaching  Of  the  baptist. 

roughly  deanse  his  grain ;  he  will  gather  the  wheat 
into  his  granary,  but  the  straw  he  will  consume  with 
unquenchable  fire.* 

*  All  the  ancients  believed  in  purification  by  water,  wind,  and 
fire.  John  baptized  with  water  to  repentance  ;  Jesus  manifested  the 
interposition  of  the  Spirit,  to  save  that  nation;  and  when  both  means 
failed,  the  s'evetest  dispensation  by  fire  was  employed,  which  con- 
sumed them  root  and  branch.  Thus  often  God  deals  with  men.  He 
tries  them  by  the  outward  ceremonies  and  calls  of  a  religious  wor- 
ship, he  employs  the  allurements  of  his  blessed  spirit  upon  their 
minds,  and  if  they  do  not  remember  and  turn  to  the  Lord,  he  chas- 
tises them  with  the  rod  of  his  anger.  I  have  followed  Schleusner  in 
the  use  of  the  word  straw  instead  of  chaff;  for  the  Jews  were  accus- 
tomed to  cut  up  straw  and  burn  it  to  cook  meat,  or  heat  ovens  ;  Mai. 
iv.  I.  The  separating  the  grain,  and  gathering  it  into  the  granary,  im- 
plied that  believers  in  Jesus,  or  the  elect,  should  not  be  involved  in 
that  awful  aud  impending  calamity.  See  this  subject  largely  dis- 
cussed in  my  "Systematical  Theology,"  Lecture  14. 


SECTION  FOURTH. 

The  Baptism  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Now  when  all  the  people  were  receiving  Baptism,* 
Jesus  came  from  Nazareth  of  Galilee  to  the  Jordan, 
to  be  baptized  by  John.     But  John  earnestly  forbade 

*  As  there  seems  to  be  a  growing  indifference  to  the  outward  forms 
of  Religion,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  somewhat  of  its  public  institu- 
tions in  appropriate  places  where  the  sacred  writers  have  particular- 
ly introduced  them  to  notice.  If  Baptism  were  no  more  than  a  mere 
rite  of  the  Jewish  nation,  how  came  it  to  occupy  so  much  public  at- 
tention at  the  introduction  of  the  new  dispensation,  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  some,  was  intended  to  abolish  the  ceremonial  forms  of  the 
ancient  worship  ?  Wo  cannot  suppose  another  answer,  than  that  it 
then  obtained  the  sanction  of  the  great  founder  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem ;  the  tendency  of  whose  religion  it  was  eminently  calculated  to 
represent. 

The  origin  of  Baptism  may  be  traced  to  the  foundation  of  a  visible 
church  of  God  upon  earth,  and  was  in  all  |)robability  used  at  all  times, 
from  the  establishment  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  down  to  the 
present  time,  for  the  same  end  and  purpose,  and  to  communicate  the 


THE  BAPTISM  OF  JESPS.  29 

hini,  saying  :  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  by  thee,  and 
comest  thou  to  me  ?  Then  Jesus  answered  :  Suffer 
me  now,  for  thus  it  becomes  us  to  perform  every 

same  spiritual  instructions.  Lightfoot  ascribes  the  first  use  of  Baptism 
to  Jacob,  when  he  admitted  into  his  family  and  the  church  of  God, 
the  proselytes  of  Shechem  and  other  heathens.  The  phrase,  "  be 
ye  clean,"  Gen,  xxxv.  2,  is  interpreted  by  Aben  Ezra  to  mean  a 
washing  of  the  body  in  baptism.  Hence,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  Maimonides  and  the  Israelites  in  general,  all  proselytes  were 
brought  into  the  Jewish  church  by  baptism  :  and  whensoever  any 
heathen  would  betake  himself  to  the  covenant  of  Israel  and  take  the 
yoke  of  the  law  upon  him,  not  only  all  the  males  must  be  circumcised, 
but  all  whether  males  or  females  must  be  baptized.  Nay,  all  Israel 
assert,  that  all  their  own  nation  were  brought  into  the  covenant  by 
baptism.  This,  they  believe,  received  the  divine  sanction  and  author- 
ity at  the  time  God  gave  the  law  on  Sinai.  "And  the  Lord  said  to 
Moses,  go  unto  the  people  and  sanctify  them  to  day  and  to-morrow, 
and  let  them  wash  tli,€ir  clothes.  Ex.  xix.  10.  This  is  the  import  ot 
the  Apostle's  meaning  ;  Heb.  x.  22.  "  Let  us  draw  near,  having  our 
hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with 
pure  water."  Hence,  also  the  great  Master  of  Christians  addressing 
a  ruler  of  the  Jews,  tells  him  it  was  necessary  to  be  born  of  xcater  as 
well  as  of  the  spirit,  in  order  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  John 
iii.  5.  Indeed,  on  the  authority  of  Maimonides  we  can  say,  that  the 
deep  reverence  maintained  for  this  rite,  even  in  the  days  of  David 
and  Solomon,  so  overawed  the  great  Sanhedrim,  as  to  prevent  them 
from  excluding  any  heathen  proselytes  from  the  church  of  God,  who 
had  been  baptized,  even  though  their  baptism  had  been  performed 
privately  and  without  their  sanction. 

The  Baptism  of  Proselytism  was  performed  on  the  introduction 
of  Gentiles  into  the  Jewish  religion,  and  as  administered  by  Johu, 
was  an  introduction  of  Jews  into  a  new  religion.  The  Easterns 
greatly  delighted  in  emblematical  instructions  :  and  every  5e\y  well 
understood,  that  this  baptism  implied  a  washing  away  of  former  im- 
purities, opinions,  and  prejudices.  Jewish  washings  were  used  to  in- 
dicate ablution  from  legal  uncleanness  ;  and  when  administered  to  u 
Gentile  proselyte,  implied  purification  from  moral  impurity  and  pagan 
worship,  and  qualification  for  admission  into  the  privileges  of  tiie 
Abrahamic  covenant.  The  baptism  of  John  required  the  purification 
of  even  Jews  who  were  legally  clean,  and  exacted  obedience  to  the 
spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  law,  thereby  preparing  the  subjects 
of  it  for  initiation  into  the  religion  of  the  ^lessiah  tlien  to  come. 
The  Baptism  of  Proselytism  is  clearly  indicated  by  Ezekiel  xxxvi,  2 j  ; 
and  that  it  should  be  performed  at  the  commencement  of  Messiah's 
kingdom  was  also  plainly  foretold  by  Zechariah  xiii.  i.  The  Jews. 
Uierefore,  never  called  in  question  tlie  propriety  or  authority  of  Bap-» 


30  THE  BAPTISM  Ot  JE^US. 

tighteous  ordinance :  then  he  suffered  him.  And 
Jesus  being  baptized,  whilst  he  was  praying,  the  high- 

tism,  though  ihey  asked  John  by  what  authority  he  administered  this 
ancient  and  sacred  institution.  They  well  knew  that  his  bnptism  im- 
plied purification  of  heart  and  life,  and  readily  submitted  to  its  ad- 
ministration with  humble  confession  of  their  sins;  believing  that  as 
it  was  proper  for  them  to  wash  and  be  clean  when  God  gave  the  law 
at  Sinai,  so  it  became  them  to  be  still  more  pure  on  the  approach  of 
Messiah  their  long  expected  and  much  desired  king.  O  what  a  glo- 
rious view  to  the  pious  beholder,  to  see  the  many  thousands  of  Israel 
congregate  to  purify  themselves  in  thought  and  life,  and  await  the 
mandates  of  their  coming  Lord.  May  their  conduct  put  to  shame  the 
thousands  of  professing  Christians  who  feel  no  interest  in  Christ  or 
his  Baptism. 

As  to  the  mode  of  Baptism,  there  should  be  no  dispute.  When 
Naaniaii  went  at  the  command  of  the  prophet  and  dipped  himself  in 
Jordan,  the  Seventy  say  he  baptized  himself.  This  was  the  ancient 
mode  of  Baptism  :  the  persons  entered  the  water,  received  instruc- 
tion, and  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  plunged  or  dipped  themselves 
beneath  the  surface,  and  then  came  out  of  the  water,  This  explains 
the  reason  of  John's  Baptism  being  performed  in  Jordan'and  at  Enon, 
and  of  Philip  and  the  Eunuch  going  down  into  the  water.  This  ac- 
count also  gives  the  reason  of  that  facility  with  which  many  thousands 
,were  baptized  almost  simultaneously  by  John.  They  all  dipped 
'themselves  and  were  thus  baptized.  Much  disputation  has  arisen 
about  the  meaning  of  the  term  Baptize :  but  it  must  be  acceded  by 
all,  the  word  radically  and  primarily  implies  immersion  or  washing, 
though  the  term  has  undoubtedly  been  used  in  a  more  limited  signifi- 
cation. For  plunging  or  covering  with  loater,  authorities  can  be  ad- 
duced from  Strabo,  Folybius,  Aristotle,  Josephus,  and  Diodorus  : 
but,  we  ought  not  hence  to  infer,  that  sprinkling  or  affusion  is  not 
Baptism.  The  application  of  water  as  a  symbol  of  jjurificatfon,  in 
whatever  manner  it  be  made,  is  the  import  of  this  sacred  rite.  Bap- 
tism in  whatever  mode  it  may  be  performed,  is  not  a  real  but  a  figu- 
rative washing,  intended  to  signify  the  purification  of  the  soul.  Hence, 
the  Baptism  of  John  and  Jesus,  led  to  a  disputation  about  purifica- 
tion. John  iii.  22 — 26;  Acts  xxii.  l6;   1  Peter  iii.  21. 

We  read  of  the  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  but  that  Baptism  took 
place  by  affusion,  ox  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit;  Mat.  iii.  II.  com- 
pared with  Acts  ii.  3  ;  and  x.  44 — 47  ;  and  xi.  15—16.  The  divine 
promise  runs  thus :  I  will  sprinkle  pure  water  upon  you,  and  you 
shall  be  clean  ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25  :  and  this  washing  of  Regeneration 
is  said  to  be  shed  on  us  abundantly,  through  Jesus  Christ  ;  Tit.  iii.  5, 
6  .  Compare  Is.  xliv.  3  ;  Joel  ii.  28  ;  and  Acts  ii.  18 — 33.  Indeed, 
if  we  admit  the  Apostle  to  be  Judge  in  this  matter,  he  will  determine 
that  those  who  have  been  sprinkled  have  been  Baptized ,  for  he  al- 


THE  BAPTISM  OF  JESUS.  31 

est.  heaven  was  opened,    and  the   Holy  Spirit  de- 
scended on  hmi,  in  a  bodily  form,  like  a  dove,  and  a 


drmsj  thiU  all  the  fathers  of  the  Jewish  nation  were  Baptized  by  the 
cloud  and  the  sea:  not  surely  by  immersion,  but  by  aspersion  or 
sprinkling  ;  1  Cor.  x.  1—2.  Clouds  sprinkle  by  rain,  but  do  not 
wash  ov  plunge. 

The  Baptism  of  John  and  Jesus  was  the  same.  Some  have  been 
induced  to  think  otherwise,  from  Acts  xix.  5;  but,  this  verse  should 
not  be  understood  to  speak  of  any  persons  being  re-baptizcd  by  the 
Apostles  who  had  been  previously  Baptized  by  John;  for  they  who 
had  been  Baptized  by  John,  were  on  hearing  the  doctrine  of  the  Spi- 
rit, made  perfect  in  the  Christian  Baptism.  See  Beza,  Benson,  and 
Wolnus  on  the  p;^ssnge.  John  Baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Messiah. 
The  disciples  of  Jesus  Baptized  in  the  name  of  their  master  alone ; 
Acts  ii,  38,  and  viii.  l6.  All  that  Jews  needed  was,  Baptism  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  as  the  true  Messiah;  for  already  they  believed  in  the  One 
only  God,  and  the  purifying  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit :  but  to 
Gentiles,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  true  God,  Baptism  was,  and  ever 
ought  to  be,  administered  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit.  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  because  he  alone  is  the  living 
and  true  God  ;  in  the  name  of  the  Son,  because  he  is  tlie  Mediator 
between  God  and  man,  and  the  only  name  by  which  we  must  be  sa- 
ved ;  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  because  only  by  that  sacred  in- 
fluence on  our  souls,  can  we  be  made  meet  for  the  enjoyment  of  God 
in  this,  or  any  otlier  world. 

The  subjects  of  Baptism  are  persons  of  all  ages  and  countries,  for 
all,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  are  impure  in  the  sight  of  an  infi- 
nitely holy  God.  The  only  dispute  to  which  we  would  attend  at 
present  is  that  concerning  Infant  Baptism.  In  this  case,  some  sup- 
pose the  administration  cannot  be  valid,  seeing  the  subjects  have  not 
been  instructed  into  the  nature  and  design  of  the  institution;  neither 
made  a  profession  of  the  Christian  faith.  We  admit  ttie  command- 
ment of  Jesus,  to  his  Apostles,  includes  instruction  ;  and  chiefly  for 
this  reason,  that  the  Gentiles,  who  should  become  proselytes  to  the 
religion  of  Jesus,  through  the  ministry  of  the  Apostles,  must  neces- 
sarily become  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  Chiistianity,  before 
they  could  reasonably  avow  their  faith  in  its  divine  authority,  or  re- 
ceive the  initiatory  sacrament.  But  this  general  command  of  Jesus, 
however  necessary  and  appropriate  to  the  circumstances  in  which 
the  heathen  world  then  were,  cannot  be  so  understood  as  to  exclude 
the  children  of  professing  parents,  from  admission  to  the  Church  oi 
the  living  God,  to  which  they  seera  to  be  heirs  through  parentage. — 
Acts  ii.  39;  I  Cor.  vii.  14.  The  language  of  Paul,  Ephes.  vi.  1^4> 
cannot  be  mistaken.  The  ciiildren,  whom  he  advises  to  obey  their 
parents  in  the  Lord,  must  have  been  initiated  into  Christ's  Church, 
otherwise  they  could  not  have  hitd  parents  ia  tlie'Lord  ;  for  this  ex- 


32  THE  BAPTISM  OF  JESUS. 

voice  came  from  heaven,  saying :  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.* 


pression  marks  incorporation  into  the  Christian  Church. — Rom.  xvi, 
7,  8,  11  ;  Philemon  l6. 

Among  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  the  seal  of  circumcision  wais 
impressed  on  the  eighth  day,  by  the  appointment  of  God.  Were  not 
Jewish  children  as  ignorant  of  the  nature  and  design  of  circumcision, 
as  children  of  Christian  or  heathen  parents  can  be,  of  the  nature  and 
intention  of  Baptism?  and  if  the  authority  of  the  parent  be  proper 
in  one  instance,  why  not  in  another?  From  Maimonides,  it  appears, 
that  the  children  of  proselytes  were  also  baptized  with  their  pa- 
rents ;  and  sometimes  heathen  children  being  baptised  at  the  request 
of  sponsors,  or  one  who  adopted  them,  were  considered  as  prose- 
lytes. As,  therefore,  no  evidence  can  be  adduced,  which  sets  aside 
the  authority  of  the  Jewish  parent  over  his  child,  or  prohibits  the 
Baptism  of  children,  we  have  the  strongest  presumption  that  the  chil- 
dren, of  Christian  or  Jewish  parents,  always  were  considered  as  fit 
recipients  of  this  seal  of  the  covenant :  and  they  seem  either  to  for- 
get or  deny  the  legal  authority  of  parents  over  their  children,  who 
teach  or  assert  their  inability  to  dedicate  their  children,  by  thus  in- 
ducting them  into  the  Christian  sanctuary.  No  man  need  ever  doubt 
of  the  stability  of  a  young  person's  faith  and  attachment  to  Christi- 
anity, who  has  been  duly  and  piously  instructed  by  his  parent :  for 
experience  proves  the  truth  of  the  proverb  :  "  train  up  a  child  in  the 
way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it," 
The  neglect  of  the  parent  to  induct  his  child  into  the  Christian 
Church,  and  leaving  the  child  wholly  to  his  own  volition  when  of 
age, is  in  effect  saying:  There  is  nothing  valuable  in  itself,  but  as 
your  imagination  may  dispose  you  to  believe ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  me  and  to  you,  whether  you  be  Christian  or  infidel ! 
O  Christian  parents — think  of  this  !  !  Bring  your  little  children  to 
Jesus,  and  train  them  up  in  the  knowledge  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord. 

*  In  relation  to  the  word,  tvSoxTjaa,  "  1  am  well  phased,"  I  admire 
the  celestial  wisdom  manifested  in  the  selection  of  the  aorist  tense  of 
the  Greek  verb.  Jehovah  was,  is,  and  always  shall  be,  well  pleased^ 
with  his  dear  Son.  Hence  that  doctrine  which  supposes  the  Great 
Eternal  to  have  poured  out  his  wrath  on  the  Son  of  his  Love,  or 
willingly  grieved  the  Soul  of  the  Mediator,  should  be  rejected.  The 
attention  of  the  reader  is  called  to  the  conduct  of  Jesus.  No 
slavish  fear  filled  his  breast ;  yet,  in  humble  attitude,  he  is  found 
bowing  the  knee  to  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  praying  for  the  sancti- 
fied use  and  success  of  every  Christian  institution.  Nominal  Chris- 
tians !  arise  and  be  baptised,  and  wash  away  your  sins,  calling  upon 
you  the  name  of  Jesi^g.  The  innocent  Lamb  of  God,  had  no  sins  to 
\Yds\x  away,  except  the  merely  ceremonial  implication  of  the  Jewish 


SECTION  FIFTH. 

The  Genealogy  of  Jesus. 

Now  Jesus  himself  m  as  about  thirty  years  of  aj^e 
when  he  began  his  minislry,*  being,  according  to  the 
custom  of  pedigrees,!  a  son  of  Joseph,  son  ot  Jacob, 
son  of  Matthan,  son  of  Eleazar,  son  of  EUud,  son 
of  x\chini,  son  of  Zadoc,  son  of  Azor,  son  of  Mea- 
riahj  son  of  Shemiah,  son  of  Ehakim,  son  of  Abiud, 


Law,  Heb.  vli.  27:  but  he  persists,  notwithstanding  the  remon- 
strance of  the  Baptist,  in  tiie  deterrainatinn  not  to  slii^ht  or  neglect 
any  instiutiou  tending  to  produce  the  fruits  of"  righteousness.  May 
God  grant  conviction  to  the  desplsers  and  indifl'erent. 

*  In  no  other  instance,  that  I  have  observed,  have  our  English 
translators  mismanaged  their  very  important  undertaking,  so  far  as 
in  the  present.  It  would  even  seem  from  this  passage,  that  they 
were  ignorant  of  the  Greek  construction  and  idiom.  Af;t"i"^''°5>  *?•'> 
beginning,  iras.  Beginning  what  ?  Waswlr.it?  Beginning  his />«6/;c 
mini&try,  as  appears  from  the  same  Luke,  xxiii.  5 — teaching  through 
all  Jewry,  beginning,  from  Galilee.  Began  to  do  and  tench,  Acts  i.  1. 
Mat.  iv.  17,  and  Mark  iv.  1.  This  is  the  rendering  of  the  vulgate, 
and  ought  to  be  follov/cd  by  all. 

Was  what?  ivas  about  i/tirti/  years  of  age,  as  every  priest  must 
have  been  according  to  the  Lfiw.  Num.  iv.  3,  23,  35.  Hence  it 
appears  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  Evangelist,  that  Jesus  was  thirty 
years  of  age,  when,  about  to  commence  his  public  oflicc,  he  came 
to  John  to  be  baptized,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  priests. 
Levit.  viii.  G. 

t  Reader,  I  here  present  you  the  Genealogy  of  your  Lord  and 
M.ister,  carcfciUy  collated  with  the  Genealogical  tables  of  the  old 
Testament  and  corrected  and  amended  according  to  the  best  authori- 
ties. Any  name  introduced  into  this  table,  concerning  which  there 
remains  any  doubt,  is  put  in  Italics  ;  and  the  great  important  and 
essential  names  are  in  capitals.  Hence  it  appears  that  Jesus  is  the 
son  of  Diirid  tlirough  the  regal  line;  that  he  descended  from 
Solomon,  2  Sam.  vii.  12 — 16,  and  not  from  Nathan,  and  conse- 
rjuenlly,  the  objection  of  Calvin  is  removed,  who  afi'inns,  that  "if 
C'hrist  was  not  descended  from  Solomon  he  could  not  be  the  Mes- 
siah." Tliat  our  Master  sprang  from  the  tribe  of  Jiidah  according 
to  the  declaration  of  the  Apostle  and  the  prediction  of  the  Patri- 
arch;  that  he  is  the  son  of  yl/»Y//<^/m  according  to  the  promise;  a 
son  of  Adam,  and  therefore  the  kinsman  redeemer  of  all  mankind; 
the  son  of  God  and  hence  the  Iicii-  atid  Lord  of  the  world. 

From  the  critical  and  very  h^arned  work  of  Dr  Barrett,  it  appears 
"■hst  the  ciglUecnth   verse   of  the  third   chapler  of  first  Chronicles, 

5 


^^^  THE  GENEALOGY  OF  JESUS* 

son  of  Arnauy  son  of  Rephaiah,  son  of  ZERrBBA- 
BEL,  son  of  Salathiel,  son  of  Jechoniah,  son  of  Je- 
hoiakim,  son  of  Josiah,  son  of  Amon,  son  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  son  of  Hezekiah,  son  of  Ahaz,  son  of  Joa- 
tham,  son  of  Uzziah,  son  of  Amaziah,  son  of  Joash, 
son  of  Ahaziah,  son  of  Joram,  son  of  Jehoshaphat, 

should  be  transposed  after  the  twentietli ;  and  the  word,  Salathiel, 
substituted  for  the  word  Pedaiah,  agreeably  to  the  reading  of  the 
Alexandrine  Septuagint.  This  being  done,  we  find  the  testimony  of 
Luke  sustained,  that  two  generations,  Rephaiah  and  Arnan,or  Rhesa 
and  Joanna  intervened  between  Zerubbabel  and  Abiud,  which  are 
therefore  placed  in  the  table.  On  the  same  authority,  Neariah  and 
Shemiah,  or  Nagge  and  Semei,  are  put  between  Eliakim  and  Azor; 
and  the  whole  table  arranged  after  the  Cambridge  Manuscript,  or 
Cedex  Bezae,  with  the  exception  of  the  above  additions. 

Notwithstanding  that  we  have  added  four  names  to  the  catalogue 
of  Beza's  Ms.  which  we  consider  the  most  accurate,  yet  it  still  fails 
to  equal  the  calculations  of  the  ancients,  who  generally  place  55 
generations  between  Jesus  and  Abraham.  But  let  itberememem- 
bered  that  these  ancients  made  their  calculations  from  Luke,  who 
following  the  legal  and  not  the  natural  line  (as  is  manifest  in  the  case 
of  Heli  and  Neri)  increases  the  catalogue  above  the  true  number  of 
iiatural  and  ordinary  generations.  Seeing  therefore  that  Ireneas, 
Africanus,  and  Ambrosius  assert  that  Luke  has  some  names  inter- 
polated, we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  the  number  55  may  suffer 
a  deduction  of  five  or  six  names,  which  might  probably  be  detected. 

First  then,  we  find  Matthat  and  Levi  omitted  by  Julius  Africanus, 
Euscbius,  Gregory  Nissen,  Ambrose,  and  Augustine.  IMoreover, 
Africanus  says,  Matthan  and  Melchi  successively  married  the  same 
woman  of  whom  was  born  Jacob  to  the  former  and  Heli  to  the 
latter.  If  then  Melchi  were  the  father  of  Heli,  Matthat  and  Levi 
should  be  rejected  from  the  catalogue  of  Luke.  Again,  as  the 
writer  of  first  Chronicles, subjoins  Neariah  or  Nagge  after  Shemaiah, 
Dr.  Barrett  supposes  Mattathias  and  Maath  should  be  rejected  from 
the  text  of  Luke,  there  being  no  corresponding  generations  in  any  of 
the  genealogies.  After  removing  these  four,  there  should  remain 
51  names  between  Christ  and  Abraham,  which  corresponds  with  the 
catalogues  of  Africanus  and  Ambrose.  Finally  Dr.  Barrett  excludes 
from  the  Catalogue  of  Luke,  Melea  and  iMenan,' making  Eliakim 
the  grandson  of  Nathan  ;  and  thus  the  number  of  names  from  Abra- 
ham to  Jesus,  is  reduced  to  A{),  agreeing  with  the  present  table, 
wliicii  places  36  generations  between  David  and  Christ,  being  seven 
less  than  the  catalogue  of  Augustine ;  hut  when  tlic  six,  rejected 
from  the  text  of  Luke,  are  deducted,  there  remains  only  one  of  a 
difference:  and  this  one,  Le  CJerc  and  Drusiifs  would  supply,  by 
placing  Abner,  either  before  or  after  Eliakim. 


THE  GENEALOGY  OF  JESUS.  35 

son  of  Asa,  son  of  Abia,  son  of  Rehoboam,  son  of 
Solomon,  son  of  David,  son  of  Jesse,  son  of  Obed, 
son  of  Boaz,  son  of  Salmon,  son  of  Naashon,  son  of 
Amminadab,  son  of  Ram,  son  of  Hezron,  son  of 
Pharez,  son  of  Judaii,  son  of  Jacob,  son  of  Isaac, 
vson  of  Abraham,  son  of  Terah,  son  of  Nahor,  son 


The  great  Roll  of  the  Lineage  of  Jesus  from  Adam  contains, 
according  to  tiic  calculations  of  Gregory  Nissen,  Basle,  and  Augus- 
tine 77  names;  but  the  Ilarleyan  Ms.  gives  75,  Ireneas  only  72,  and 
our  catalogue  reduces  the  numberto  68.  This  Roll  is  properly  divided 
into  four  sections  ;  the  first,  from  Adam  to  Abraham,  including  20 
names  and  a  period  of  about  as  many  hundred  years:  but  in  the 
account  of  this  period,  the  Septuagint  differs  greatly  from  the 
Hebrew  Bible;  the  latter  giving  194(5  years  and  the  former  3412. 
In  the  age  of  Jared,  Methuselah,  Lamech,  Noah,  Shem,  and  Terah, 
they  are  nearly  agreed,  but  to  the  age  of  every  other  person,  the 
Septuagint  uniformly  adds  an  hundred  years.  The  second,  from 
Abraham  to  David,  includes  13  generations  and  a  period  of  900  years, 
allowing  70  years  to  each  generation.  The  third,  from  David  to 
Salathiel,  includes  19  names  and  a  period  of  about  600  years,  allow- 
ing 30  years  to  a  generation.  The  fourth,  from  Salathiel  to  Jesus, 
includes  a  list  of  l6  names,  and  a  period  of  about  500  years, 
assigning  about  33  years  to  each  generation.  la  all  probability, 
therefore  one  name  is  wanted  in  this  part  of  our  catalogue;  which 
may  be  Abner. 

Next  to  the  Introduction  of  John,  we  know  of  on  portion  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  has  occasioned  more  perplexity  and  confu- 
sion among  the  Commentators,  than  the  genealogy  of  Jesus  ;  and  the 
attempts  of  Theologians  to  maintain  their  different  schemes  of  har- 
monizidg  the  genealogies  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  afford  one  of  the 
most  prominent  instances  of  the  Labor  inanis.  The  Method  of 
Africanus  a  native  of  Palestine,  and  the  cotemporary  and  literary 
rival  of  Origen,  though  probably  the  first  attempt,  is  the  most  rea- 
sonable and  effectual.  The  catalogues  of  names  became  confused 
from  reckoning  two  ways,  both  by  the  natural  and  legal  descent., 
hence  Jesus  was  son  of  Heli  and  son  of  Nathan  by  the  legal  line, 
but  son  of  Jacob,  son  of  Solomon  by  natural  descent.  The  main 
object,  therefore,  of  Dr.  Barrett's  learned  researches,  undoubtedly 
fails  :  for  Mary  was  not  the  daughter  of  Heli,  neither  was  she  of 
the  tribe  of  judah.  The  universal  voice  of  Antiquity  pronounces 
Mary  the  daughter  of  Joachim  and  Anna;  Anna  was  the  daughter 
of  Matthan,  and  both  Joachim  and  Matthan  were  priests  ;  conse 
quently,  INIary  was  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  as  I  have  elsewhere  shown. 
The  genealogy  given  by  the  Evangelist  is  that  of  Joseph  ;  and  the 
grand  objort  was  to  show,  that  Je«;iis.  a  sou  of  JosrMih.  was   indeed 


36  TJIE  GENEALOGY  OF  JESUS. 

of  Semg,  son  of  Reu,  son  of  Peleg,  son  of  Ebei, 
son  of  Suluh,  son  of  Arphaxad,  son  of  vSliem,  son  of 
Noah,  son  of  Lamech,  son  of  Methuselah,  son  of 
Enoch,  son  of  Jared,  son  of  Mehalahel,  son  of 
Caman,  son  of  Enos,  son  of  Seth,  son  of  Adam, 
son  of  God. 


the  son  of  David  and  the  true  Messiah.  Tliis  was  all-important ; 
and  this  has  been  accuniplished.  See  my  Lecture  on  the  Miraculous 
Conception,  and  Dissertation  on  Integrity  of  the  New  Testament. 

Genealogies  wore  kept  among  the  Jews  with  great  care  and  exact- 
ness, as  ap])cai  s  from  Nehemiah  vii.  5,  64  ;  Ezra  ii,  62  :  so  that  to 
loose  their  genealogy  was  to  loose  their  inheritance  among  Israel. 
3?ut  the  genealogies  of  females  were  not  kept ;  nor  were  brothers 
by  the  mother  ever  accounted  brothers,  says  Mamonides,  "  causa 
heraeditatis  cernendae,  sive  in  causa  ducendae  fratriae,  aut  exeundi 
calcaei."  Consequently  the  genealogy  of  Mary  would  have  availed 
nothing  in  Jewish  law  ;  hence  it  is  high  time  to  reject  the  fanciful 
supposition  that  Luke  gives  the  genealogy  of  Mary  :  for  if  he  had, 
it  would  have  been  labor  to  no  useful  purpose  whatever. 

The  names  of  kindred  among  the  Jews  were  reckoned  two  ways. 
1  by  natural  generation  :  2  according  to  Law,  as  when  a  man  died 
childless,  his  brother  being  obliged  to  take  his  wife,  the  issue  was 
accounted  to  the  deceased  brother.  See  Gen.  xxxvii.  8  ;  Deut.  xxv. 
5  ;  and  Ruth  iv.  5 — 8.  By  reason  of  these  intermarriages  son)e 
succeeded  as  natural  sons,  others  as  merely  nominal  :  aud  thus  were 
the  families  of  Nathan  and  Solomon  interwoven.  On  this  supposi- 
tion, which  best  accounts  for  the  diversity  of  names,  the  genealogies 
given  in  Matthew  and  Luke  may  both  be  true  :  and  this  is  the 
method  long  pursued  by  the  Christian  Church,  in  reconciling  the 
two  Evangelists.  See  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  L.  1.  C.7.  Hence  the 
first  sixteen  verses  of  Matthew  may  be  true  and  genuine,  as  the 
writer  calls  them  "the  book  of  the  genealogy  or  Roll  of  the  Line- 
age of  Jesus  :  for  this  Roll  or  catalogue  might  have  been  obtained 
from  the  public  Registers. 


SECTION  SIXTH. 

The  Temptation  of  Jesits. 

Then  Jesus,  full  of  a  holy  spirit,  returned  from  the 
Jordan,  and  was  led,  by  the  Spirit,  through  the  wil- 
derness forty  days  ;  and  when  they  were  ended,  he 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  JESUS.  37 

was  luiiigry;  because  he  eat  iiothinjjj  during  those 
da\  s,  being  tempted  by  the  deceiver.*  Tiicii  the 
tempter  said  to  liim:  It  thou  be  a  son  of  God,  com- 
mand this  stone  to  become  bread.  Jesus  ans veered, 
It  is  written  :  Man  sliaU  not  Uve  on  bread  alone,  but 
on  every  appouitment  of  God. 


*  Tlie  term,  biaSoXoi,  properly  signifies  a  deceiver,  slanderer,  or 
accuser,  and  answers  lo  llie  tiohvuw  sutan,  au  adversary ;  lliere- 
I'ore,  1  have  used  tlie  tonus,  iudisciiHiinately,  not  doubling,  lliat  tliey 
were  so  understood  by  the  Apostles  :  for  the  Syriac  kertza,  Hebrew 
saian,  and  Greek  diahulos,  are  synonymous  terms,  implying  a  ca- 
lumniator, deceiver,  or  adversary.  Indeed,  devil  and  satan  are 
words  of  very  extensive  application,  and  denote  wliaiever  is  disad- 
vantageous to  the  well-being  of  man,  whether  it  aliect  his  health, 
character,  or  religious  prosperity. 

The  history  of  Christ's  temptation  is  a  fine  piece  of  composition, 
surpassed  only  by  some  jiarts  of  the  book  of  Job.  It  partakes  of  the 
nature  of  poem,  and  has  its  dramatic  characters  :  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  Ahriinan  of  the  Persian  Mythology  :  the  Son  of  God  is  the 
hero,  and  hunum  desire  personified,  the  satan  of  the  contest.  To 
give  all  the  etlect  imaginary  to  the  \irtue  and  triumph  of  Christ, 
satan  is  represented  as  possessing  every  advantage,  and  appearing  in 
the  threefold  nialigniiy  of  tempter,  deceiver,  and  adversary.  During 
the  scenes,  every  stratagem  of  the  enemy  is  practi.sed,  and  every  de- 
gree of  seduction  is  tried  :  First — Distrust  in  Gud\  supporting  Pro- 
vidence; Secondly — Presumption;  and,  Thirdly — Ambition,  aspir- 
ing to  such  self-sufficiency,  as  uliciiatcs  the  ailections  from  God,  and 
constitutes  idolatry. 

If  we  devest  this  history  of  its  dramatic  features,  it  will  contain 
an  easy  and  beautiful  lesson  of  instruction,  highly  interesting  to 
mankind.  Jesus  was  tempted  in  all  respects  as  we  are,  lleb.  iv.  15  ; 
James  says  every  man  is  tempted  by  his  own  desire,  chap.  i.  14  ; 
and  John  reduces  all  the  sources  of  temptation  to  three:  the  desire 
of  the  flesh — the  desire  of  the  eyes — and  the  pride  of  life,  1  John 
ii.  l6.  Laying,  therefore,  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles,  as  the  foun- 
dation, we  find  no  difficulty  in  building  thereon  a  superstructure  of 
perfect  symmetry.  Jesus  was  born  of  poor  parents,  and  appeared, 
in  the  most  important  and  public  station,  without  even  the  means  of 
subsistence.    As  a  man,  therefore,  he  might  naturally  feel  disposed — 

1st.  To  use  the  miraculous  powers,  which  had  lately  been  commu- 
nicated to  him,  for  the  purpose  of  jwrsonal  maintenance.  This  d(!- 
sire  he  overcame  and  subdued,  so  far  as  never,  on  his  own  account, 
to  put  forth  one  efibrt  of  delegated  power.  Thus  was  i\\e  first 
temptation  overcome. 

~d.  lie  might  be  disposed  to  give  the  Jewish  people  si^ch  a  siou^ 


i 


38  THE  TEMPTATION  OF  JESiS, 

Then  the  deceiver  brought  him  to  Jerusalem,  the 
holy  city,  and  placed  him  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  said  to  him :  If  thou  be  a  son  of  God,  cast 
thyself  down  ;  for  it  is  written  :  He  shall  give  his  an- 
gels charge  concerning  thee,  to  keep  thee  safe  :  and 
on  their  hands  shall  they  bear  thee,  lest  at  any  time 
thou  strike  thy  foot  against  a  stone.  Jesus  answered, 
It  is  said  :  Thou  shalt  not  try  the  Lord  thy  God. 

Again,  the  deceiver  took  him  to  an  exceedingly 
high  mountain,  and  shoAved  him  all  the  provinces  of 
the  state,*  in  a  moment  of  time,  and  said  to  him : 


as  would  indubitably  satisfy  them,  that  he  was  indeed  the  Christ ; 
which  could  have  been  perfecly  accomplished,  by  going  to  the  pin- 
nacle of  the  temple,  during  a  public  festival,  and  casting  himself 
down  from  thence.  This  also  he  declined,  and  there  was  no  such 
sign  given. 

3d.  The  desire  of  assuming  the  government  and  kingdom  of  his 
father,  David,  might  have  kindled,  for  a  moment,  in  his  bosom,  the 
ambition  for  regal  honours,  and  the  elevation  of  his  people  and  na- 
tion to  the  imperial  grandeur  and  power  of  Rome.  Yea,  it  Is  even 
possible,  that  the  high-priest,  or  an  emissary  of  the  Sanhedrim,  might 
have  attempted  to  negotiate  a  compromise  with  the  Messiah,  oflering 
to  invest  him  with  regal  honour  and  power,  and  to  put  him  in  pos- 
session of  all  the  provinces,  included  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Da- 
vid and  Solomon,  to  which,  as  the  Messiah,  he  had  an  indisputable 
claim :  provided  he  would  sanction  and  maintain  the  institutes,  of 
Moses,  and  the  established  ordinances  of  the  temple  service.  This 
appears  still  more  probable,  inasmuch  as  the  adversary  does  not  ask 
of  him  idolatrous  adoration,  but  only  worship,  tvurcwv,  in  his  presence^ 
or  agreeably  to  the  Levitical  ritual.  Moreover,  this  tempter  did  not 
offer  Christ  any  greater  extent  of  territory,  than  the  kingdom  of  Da- 
vid, which  belonged  to  him,  and  was  understood  to  be  included  in 
the  promise :  and  he  well  knew,  that  if  Jesus  would  co-operate 
with  the  Sanhedrim,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  cast  off  the  Ro- 
man yoke,  and  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel.  This  was  the  last  and 
severest  trial  of  all,  and  seems  to  have  been  in  accordance  with  the 
most  sanguine  expectations  of  Christ's  most  intimate  friends  and  fol- 
lowers. But  he  shunned  the  bait,  and  dismissed  the  temptation,  con- 
tenting himself  with  a  spiritual  dominion  over  the  minds  and  affec- 
tions of  men.  In  this  sense  he  most  justly  deserves,  and  may  he  far 
ever  possess,  Universal  Empire. 

*  All  the  Kingdoms  of  the  world.  This  translation  in  our  English 
Bibles  has  occasioned  much  unnecessary  conjecture  and  mistake ; 
and  well  if  its  evil  tendency  had  stopped  within  the  regions  of  fancj 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  JESUS.  39 

I  will  give  thee  all  this  authority,  and  the  glory  of 
these  provinces^  for  it  is  dehvered  to  me,  and  1  give 
it  to  whomsoever  I  please :  if  then  thou  dost  homage 
in  my  presence,  all  shall  be  thine.  Jesus  anwered: 
Withdraw,  adversary ;  for  it  is  written  :  Thou  shalt 
reverence  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  alone  shalt 
thou  worsliip.  Then  the  adversar}-,  having  ended 
every  trial,  departed  from  him  for  a  season  ;  and  the 
angels  of  God  came  and  ministered  to  him. 

and  erroneous  interpretation.  It  has  been  made  a  weapon  in  the 
hands  of  infidelity,  to  wound  the  Christian  cause  and  excite  the  ridi- 
cule of  the  scornful.  The  business  of  a  translator,  is  to  give  the 
peculiar  sense  in  which  a  word  or  phrase  is  used  by  his  author,  in 
that  particular  place,  and  not  any,  nor  even  the  most  commonly 
received,  sense  of  the  term.  Michaelis  very  reasonably  supposes, 
that  Matthew  wrote :  cal  mamdccuth  hazcbi,  all  the  provinces  of 
renoicn,  and  the  Greek  translator  very  closely  copying  the  Hebrew 
original,  says,  Ttaaa;  ra;  /Saaajtaj  tow  xoaM-'^v.  for  Zebi  in  Hebrew,  and 
A'oswos,  in  Greek,  signify  beauty,  glory,  ornament  or  renown:  and 
Judea  had  been  called  by  the  prophets :  The  glory  of  all  lands,  or 
the  land  of  glor}^ ;  Ezek.  xx.  6,  15  ;  Dan.  viii.  8,  and  xi.  l6,  41. 

This  interpretation  is  confirmed  by  Luke,  who  says,  tlie  kingdoms, 
otxo^ffoy,  of  the  inhabited  land.  This  term  was  used  by  the  proud 
sovereigns  of  the  world  to  denote  the  honor  or  majesty  of  their 
kingdoms.  The  i^o??ia??.Ewp?Vc  is  so  called,  Luke  ii.  1.  The  Gre- 
cian State ;  Demos,  de  Coron.  and  the  Kingdom  of  Judea,  Joseph 
Antiq.  viii.  3.  See  Glassii  Philologia  Sacra,  Leigh's  Critica  Sacra, 
Stockii  Clavis  Linquee  Sanctae,  and  Marsh's  Michaelis,  vol.  3.  p.  155. 

Glass  strictly  limits  the  meaning  of  the  term,  to  the  Land  of 
Canaan,  and  Leigh  correctly  says,  that  the  word  translated  kingdom, 
denotes  also  the  provinces  and  principalities  of  which  a  state  may 
be  composed.  On  these  data,  I  found  the  translation  which  I  have 
given  in  tlic  text.  Judea  was  divided  into  four  provinces:  Judea 
proper,  Samaria,  Galilee,  and  Perca ;  and  governed  by  Arehelaus, 
Antipas,  and  Philip,  sons  of  Herod  the  Great,  who  were  called 
kings  and  their  principalities,  kingdoms.  jNIatth.  ii.  22,  and  xiv.  9. 
Now  according  to  Deut.  xxxiv.  1 — 3,  and  the  testimony  of  the  famous 
travellers  Mariti  and  JMaundrel,  all  the  kingdoms  or  provinces  of 
Judea,  could  be  seen  from  the  top  of  Nebo  or  Quarantania.  See 
Clarke,  Campbell,  McKnight,  and  Townsend,  on  this  passage. 

If  this  interpretation  be  admitted,  there  seems  no  necessity  for 
the  interference  of  the  ancient  Ahriman  or  modern  Satan,  nor  does 
there  appear  either  piety  or  consistency  in  the  supposition,  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  should  carry  the  Saviour  of  the  worjd  into  the  wilder- 
ness, to  be  tempted  of  a  rebel  foe  to  God  and  man,  who  had  been 


SECTION  SEVKNTIL 

The  Second  Testimony  of  John. 

This  is  the  testimony  of  John.  When  the  Jews 
sent  Priests  and  Levites  from  Jerusalem  to  ask  him  ; 
Who  ?rt  thou?  he  denied  not,  but  confessed:  I  am 
not  the  Christ.  And  they  asked  him:  What  then? 
Art  thou  Elijah  ?  And  he  said  :  I  am  not.*  Art  thou 
the  Prophet  ?  and  he  answered :  No.f  Then  they 
said  to  him  :  Who  art  thou  ?  that  we  may  give  an  an- 
swer to  them  who  sent  us»     What  sa3'est  thou  of  thy- 


ejectcd  from  the  presence  of  the  Lonl.  The  very  thought  is  too 
horrible  to  obtain  utterance,  and  pregnant  with  mischief  to  the  Chris- 
tian cause.  See  this  subject  fully  discussed  in  my  "  Systematical 
Theology/'  L»'ct.  7,  and  Balfour's'second  Inquiry., 

*  There  is  here  an  apparent  contradiction  to  Matt.  xi.  Id,  and  xvii. 
12,  where  our  Lord  says  of  .Tohn  :  This  is  Elijah,  who  was  to  come. 
But  the  intention  of  our  Master  was  to  inform  his  disciples,  that 
John  was  Elijah,  in  the  sense  of  Malachi,  because  ho  came  in  the 
power  and  spirit,  of  that  ancient  prophet.  From  Matt.  xvii.  10,  it 
appears  the  Scribes  taught,  Elijah  would  come  before  the  Messiah; 
and  founded  this  opinion  on  a  literal  construction  of  Mai.  iv.  5  ,  and 
as  they  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  John  rightly 
understood  them  to  ask  :  Whether  he  were  the  prophet  Elijah, 
returned  to  dwell  pcrsoiially,  on  earth  again  ?  This  question,  there- 
fore, could  not  be  answered  by  John  in  the  affirmative,  without 
-equivocation :  and  truth  required  him  to  answer  according  to  the 
sense  of  the  interrogation. 

t  Almost  all  the  translators  have  orred  in  this  place,  except  Wake- 
field and  Campbel.  Indeed,  the  common  translation  :  Art  thou  that 
.prophet?  is  a  violation  of  the  English  idiom;  seeins  the  pronoun 
that,  has  no  antecedent  in  the  sentence.  The  translations  of  Dodd- 
ridge, Luther,  Ijeausolue,  and  De  Sacv,  involve  contradiction  be- 
tween John  andCiirist:  forbad  John  been  asked  :  Art  thou  a  prophet? 
he  could  not  have  answered  :  No,  for  Jesus  affirms,  there  had  not 
arisen  among  men  a  greater  prophet  than  the  Baptist.  Mat  xi  11. 
But  the  interrogation  of  the  messengers  was:  Art  ihou  the  prophet? 
meaning  either  the  prophet  predicted  by  Moses,  Deut.  xviii.  15,  or 
Jeremiah,  whom  they  expected  to  return  in  the  days  of  the  Messiah, 
to  restore  the  pot  of  manna,  and  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  Accor- 
dingly, some  supposed  Christ  to  be  Jeremiah.  Mat.  xvii.  14. 
Hence,  there  was  a  general  expectation  of  some  great  prophet, 
besides  Elijah  and  the  Messiah,  whom  they  particularly  distinguibhed 
by  the  definite  appellation,  The  Prophet. 


THE  SECOND    TESTmO?fY  OF  JOHN.  41 

self?  He  said  :  I  am  the  voice  of  a  cryer  in  the  wil- 
derness: Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  saith 
the  Prophet  Isaiah.  Now  the  messengers  were  Pha- 
risees:* and  they  asked  him:  Why  then  dost  thou 
baptize,!  if  thou  art  not  the  Christ,  nor  Elijah,  nor  the 
Prophet  ?     John  answered  them,  saying  :  I  baptize 


*  The  Pharisees  were  strict  religionists,  and  derived  their  name 
from  JPJiarash,  to  separate ;  because  they  not  only  separated  them- 
selves from  all  Pagans,  but  also  from  Jews,  wlio  did  not  conjpjy  with 
their  peculiarities.  Being  great  lovers  of  tradition,  they  encumbered 
religion  with  many  frivolous  observances  ;  and  thereby  assumed  high 
pretensions  to  piety  and  strictness  of  discipline.  They  were  very 
peculiar  in  their  dress,  loved  many  washings,  fastings,  and  public 
prayer;  and  manifested  great  reverence  for  the  Law,  Sabbath,  and 
traditions  of  the  Elders.  But  however  noble,  holy,  and  pure  theit 
motives  might  have  been  at  first,  their  religion  degenerated  into  super- 
stition, and  their  mighty  zeal  into  intolerable  bigotry.  Reverenced 
by  the  common  people,  and  dreaded  by  tiie  nobility,  they  possessed 
great  influence,  and  often  executed,  in  the  name  of  religion,  the 
most  pernicious  designs.  Hence,  it  is  easy  to  account  for  the 
severity  of  John's  address  to  them,  when  they  came  to  his  baptism : 
for  Luke  informs  us,  chap.  vii.  30,  that  the  Pharisees  and  Lawyers, 
lejecting  the  counsel  of  God,  were  not  baptized  of  John.  It  is  there- 
fore, very  probable,  that  when  the  Pharisees  came  to  the  Baptist, 
their  object  was  rather  to  cavil,  object,  and  dissuade  the  people,  thaa 
to  comply  with  the  admonitions  of  the  preacher.  Hence,  Johu 
calls  them,  Offspring  of  the  Serpent.  f 

t  The  Messengers  from  Jerusalem  did  not  question  the  authority 
of  Baptism,  but  of  the  Baptist:  for  the  Jews  believed  in  the  divine 
appointment  of  the  ceremony,  but  it  had  been  only  practised  in  the 
admission  of  proselytes,  and  in  the  presence  of  three  magistrates 
commissioned  by  the  Sanhedrim.  The  authority  of  administering 
the  rite  without  an  appointment,  and  the  baptism  of  Jews,  were 
considered  exclusively  the  prerogative  of  the  Messiah  or  his  precur- 
sors, who,  they  admitted,  might  baptize  even  Jews,  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  more  select  soc\(i\.y .  We  ought  not  therefore  to  be  surpri- 
sed, that  the  great  mass  of  the  nation  should  rush  forward,  with  one 
Consent,  to  be  baptized  by  John,  believing  him  to  be  either  the  Mes- 
siah or  one  of  his  forerunners. 

Danzius  in  a  v;iiuable  Treatise,  on  the  Baptism  of  proselytes,  extant, 
in  Meuschen's  Nov.  Test,  ex  Talmude,  has  undertaken  to  prove, 
that  Baptism  whs  appointed  of  God,  and  long  practised  in  the  Jewish 
Church  ;  and  that  the  Baptism  of  John  was  essentially  the  same,  as 
that  which  had  been  so  long  practised  by  divine  appointment.  See 
the  Co.nmentaries  of  Rost-amiiller,  Kuiuoe),  Townsend,  and  Clarke* 

6 


42  THE  SECOND   TESTIMONY  OF  JOHN, 

in  water,  but  there  stood  one,  in  the  midst  of  yotr^ 
whom  ye  know  not.  He,  coming  after  me,  is  before 
me,  whose  shoe-string*  I  am  unworthy  to  loose. 
These  things  were  done  in  Bethabara,t  on  the  Jor- 
dan, where  John  was  baptizmg. 

On  the  next  day,  he  sees  Jesus  coming  to  him,  and 
says :  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  bears  away 


*  To  bear  or  loose  the  shoes  of  another,  implies  great  disjiarity. 
In  visits  among  the  great  men  of  the  East,  the  sandals  were  taken 
oft'  at  the  door,  and  either  left  there,  or  given  to  a  servant  to  carry. 
Hence,  to  loose  or  carry  shoes,  whs  tiie  office  of  an  inferior  domestic. 
From  this  phrase  and  the  preceding  one :  He  is  he.fure  me,  some 
have  inferred  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  pre-existence;  but  whether 
that  doctrine  be  true  or  not,  there  is  nothing  in  the  testimony  of  the 
Baptist,  that  either  teaches  or  implies  such  an  opinion.  The  word 
tf^fi^ooOiv,  properly  signifies  before,  or  in  the  jjrescncc  of.  Matt. 
V.  24;  xxiii.  13,  Acts  xviii.  17;  2  Cor.  v.  10;  but  it  also  frequently 
in  the  Septuagint  version  and  New  Testament,  indicates  prefer- 
ence or  superiority.  Gen.  xlviii,  10,  and  John  i.  27,  compared  with 
John  iii.  31 ;  Mat.  iii.  11 ;  Mark  i.  7-  I"  the  two  last  passages,  Mat- 
thew and  Mark  use  the  word,  t5;tv^or£/ioj,  more  mighty,  which  must 
be  the  sense  intended  by  John  :  and  Chrysostom  the  most  eminent 
Grecian  among  the  fathers,  gives  the  sense  by  ivrt/uwrf^of,  more 
honorable.  The  term,  rt^wroj,  according  to  derivation,  signifies 
^priority,  and  hence  frequently  superiority.  Indeed  Leigh  well 
says:  It  does  not  so  much  indicate  order  of  time  as  of  dignity. 
Accordingly,  King  James'  translators  render  it  by  the  word  chief: 
Mark  vi.  21  ;  Luke  xix.  ^:  Acts  xxv.  2,  and  xxviii.  7,  17  ;  1  Tim. 
i.  15  ;  by  the  word  first  Mat.  xxii.  38;  Mark  xii.  28,  29,  30  :  by 
best,  Luke  xv.  22  :  by  chiefly,  Rom.  iii.  2;  Wakefield  renders  the 
phrase,  rt/iwroj  /wou,  greater  than  I ;  and  justifies  his  translation  by 
referring  to  John  xv.  18;  Col.  i,  15.  Stockius  and  Hammond  say, 
we  must  understand  the  word  in  the  comparative  degree,  John  xv, 
18,  and  xx.  8  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  45, 47.  Now  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter 
is  this  :  John  siiys  Jesus,  who  came  after  him,  should  be  prefer- 
red to  him,  because,  as  the  I'-lessiah,  he  was  more  excellent  or  greater 
than  he :  for  Jesus  had  received  a  more  exalted  commission,  and  a 
greater  portion  of  the  divine  spirit.  See  the  Lecture  on  the  pre- 
existence  nf  Christ,  in  my  "  Systematiual  Theol:  gy." 

t  Though  most  of  the  Mss.  and  versions  read  /  ethany,  yet  I 
choose  to  retain  Bethabara.  It  is  found  in  the  Armenian,  .Ethio- 
pic,  and  Philoxenian  versions;  and  in  C.  K.  and  many  other  Mss. 
It  is  the  reading  preferred  by  Origen,  Eusebius,  and  Jerome:  and 
both  Origen  and  Jerome  relate,  that  tradition  until  their  day,  still 
pointed  out  Bethabara,  as  the  place  whore  John  Baptized. 


THE    SECOND    TESTIMONY    OF   JOttN*  43 

the  sin  of  the  world!*  This  is  he  of  whom  I  said: 
After  me  comes  a  man,  who  is  preferred  to  me,  for  he 
is  my  superior.  And  I  knew  him  not,  but  for  this  pur- 
pose came  I  baptizing  vvitli  this  water  that  he  may  be 
manifested  to  Israel.  Moreover,  John  bear  witness, 
saying:  1  saw  I  lie  spirit  descend  from  heaven,  like  a 
dove,    and   remain   on  him.     But   1  should  not  have 

*  In  the  opinion  of  Lightfoot,  John  could  not  have  selected  a 
more  characteristic  expression,  than  that  adopted  in  allusion  to  the 
lamb  which  was  offered  at  Jerusalem  every  morning  and  evening. 
1  He  addresses  Priests  and  Levites,  whose  chief  iemployment  was  to 
make  a  sacrifice  of  that  lamb.  2  It  was  about  the  time  of  oftering 
the  sacrifice,  when  John  saw  Jesus  coming  to  him,  and  used  these 
words.  3  The  lamb  declared  the  innocence  of  Christ,  as  being 
without  spot  5  and  pointed  out  the  death  of  Christ,  in  being  oiiered. 
4.  It  was  pertinent  to  the  doctrine  of  John,  who  had  spoken  of 
remission  of  sin ;  and  when  Christ  came  near,  he  intimated,  in  what 
manner,  tlie  sin  of  the  penitent  should  be  forgiven,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  this  lamb,  who  should  bear  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

To  bear  anmij  sin,  is  an  allusion  to  Isaiah  liii.  7,  and  the  usual 
practice  gf  the  oftering  of  the  lamb,  Lev.  i.  4,  iii.  2.  and  iv.  4  :  for 
when  the  sacrifice  was  ottered,  he  that  brought  it,  laid  his  hands  on 
the  head  of  tlie  victim,  according  to  the  command  of  God,  and  con- 
fessed liis  sins,  which  were  considered  as  thereby  transferred  to  the 
victim,  which  carried  them  away.  Dr.  Clarke  observes  that  in  three 
essential  things,  Christ  diftered  from  the  lamb  in  the  daily  offering. 
1.  He  was  the  lamb  of  God  the  most  valuable.  2.  He  carries  away 
sin  in  reality,  other  lambs  only  representatively.  3.  He  carries  away 
the  sin  of  the  tvorld,  whereas  the  usual  lamb  was  off*ered,  only,  on 
behalf  of  the  Jewish  people. 

How  far  the  rites  of  the  Jewish  worship  were  representative,  and 
in  what  sense  they  were  types,  or  shadows  of  good  things  to  come, 
Heb.  X.  1,  are  subjects  of  much  litigation  among  Christians,  and  are 
not  likely  to  be  easily  determined.  But  as  all  Christians  agree,  that 
Jesus,  the  Christ,  is  anointed  of  God,  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  and 
made  of  God  for  us,  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption, we  ought  firmly  to  believe,  that  in  his  own  good  time,  he 
will^nis^  transgression,  make  an  end  oi'  sins,  and  establish  everlast- 
ing righteousness.  Thus  will  the  Lamb  of  God  bear  away  the  sins 
of  the  world.  But  thrice  happy  the  man,  who,  having  heard  and 
learned  of  the  Father,  comes  to  Christ,  in  cheerful  and  devoted  obe- 
dience; for  he  shall  find  a  happy  entrance  administered  to  him,  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  of  Christ.  Reader,  much  has  been  done  ; 
say  not :  It  is  ftnighed,  till  thy  mind  be  enlightened,  an*i  thy  sou! 
reconciled. 


4lt  THE    SECOND    TESTIMONY    OF    JOHN. 

known*  him,  had  not  he,  who  sent  tne  to  baptize  in 
water,  said :  On  whomsoever  thou  shalt  see  the  Spi- 
rit descend  and  remain,  the  same  is  he  who  baptizes 
with  a  holy  spirit.  And  I  have  seen  and  borne  tes- 
timony, that  this  is  the  Son  of  God. 

*  There  seems  a  dissonance  between  this  saying  of  John,  and  his 
address  to  Jesus,  when  he  came  to  be  baptized,  Mat.  iii.  14.  But, 
thou'^h  this  declaration  seem  to  reflect  on  the  two  first  chapters  of 
Matthew,  yet,  there  is  nothing  irreconcileable  in  the  language  of 
John;  for  though  John  might  have  the  highest  veneration  for  the  per- 
sonal purity  and  holiness  of  Jesus,  and  even  have  believed  him  to  be 
a  prophet,  yet  he  knew  him  not  to  be  the  Messiah,  till  he  received 
the  sign  from  heaven,  for  his  residence  in  the  wilderness  till  the  time 
of  his  appearance  as  a  public  teacher,  might  have  effaced  all  early 
reports  concerning  the  wonders  related  in  the  book  of  the  nativity. 
Hence  the  modesty  of  the  Baptist,  and  the  singular  character  of 
Jesus,  may  account  for  what  is  said,  in  Matt.  iii.  14  :  and  all  that 
is  affirmed  here,  is  only,  that  officially,  as  the  Christ,  Jesus  was 
not,  previously,  known  to  John.^ 


SECT  [ON  EIGHTH. 

Jesus  obt.  ins  Disciples  from  John 
Again,  on  the  next  day,  stood  John  and  two  of  his 
disciples,  and  earnestly  looking  on  Jesus  as  he 
walked,  he  said  :  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  And 
the  two  diseiples  henrd  him,  and  followed  Jesus.* 
But  .fesus  turning,  and  seeing  them  following,  said 
to    them:   What    seek    ye?     They    answered:   Your 

*  Worthy  pattern  of  Christian  ministers,  and  devoted  servant  and 
forerunner  of  the  Messiah  !  Thine  highest  ambition  was  to  proclaim 
the  Lamb  of  God.  Though  thy  disciples  leave  thee,  to  follow  Je- 
sus, thine  end  is  accomplished.  Like  Paul,  thou  wast  willing  to  ac- 
count all  things  loss  compared  to  Christ,  and  the  success  of  his  king- 
dom. Thou  wast  willing  to  decrease,  that  Jesus  might  increase. 
Thy  disciples  left  thee,  and  followed  Jesus  I  Truly  the  spirit  of 
Elijah  dwelt  in  thee.  May  li;/  example  be  imitated  by  all,  in  bring- 
ing men  to  Jesus;  and  may  all  the  preachers  of  Christ  be  willing 
to  lose  all  for  the  sake  of  increasing;  the  followers  of  the  Lamb. 


JESUS   OBTAINS    DISCI I'LES   FROM    JOHN.  45 

residence,  Teacher.  He  said  to  them :  Come  and 
see.  They  went  and  saw  the  place  of  his  residence, 
and  abode  with  him  that  day,  as  it  was  the  tenth 
hour.  One  of  the  two,  who  heard  John  and  followed 
Jesus,  was  Andrew,  the  brother  of  Simon  Peter. 
He  first  met  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  says  to 
him :  We  have  found  the  Messiah !  and  he  brought 
him  to  Jesus,  who,  looking  earnestly  on  him,  said : 
Thou  art  Simon,  the  son  of  Jona,  but  thou  shall  be 
called  Peter.* 

On  the  day  following,  Jesus  desired  to  go  into  Gra- 
lilee,  and  finding  Philip,  said  to  him  :  Follow  me. 
JVow  Philip  was  of  Bethsaida,  the  city  of  Andrew 
and  Peter.  Philip  meets  Nathaniel,  and  says  to  him: 
We  have  found  him  whom  Moses,  in  the  Law,  and 
the    prophets,    described,t    Jesus    of    Nazareth,    the 

*  The  members  of  the  Charch  of  Rome  imagine  that  this  name 
•Was  given  to  Simon,  to  intimate  tliat  he  should  be  head  of  the  Uni- 
versal Church.  This  opinion,  however,  has  certain  facts  strongly 
opposed:  the  equality  among  the  disciples,  continually  inculcated  by 
Jesus;  the  election  of  James  to  preside  over  the  church  at  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  the  manner  of  Paul's  address  to  Peter.  Notwithstanding, 
I  believe  Peter  was  so  called  by  our  Lord,  from  that  forward  and 
prominent  part  which  he  acted  in  the  founding  of  the  Christian 
Church.  He  was  always  the  first  in  avowing  his  faith  and  attach- 
ment to  his  Master.  He  received  special  commandment  to  feed  the 
flock  of  Christ,  and  was  the  first  to  open  the  way  for  the  Gentile 
world  to  enter  the  Church  of  God.  Moreover,  a  more  signal  dis- 
play of  heaven's  interposition  was  never  manifested,  than  in  that  me- 
morable sermon  preached  by  this  Apostle  at  the  Feast  of  Pentecost, 
■when  three  thousand  souls  were  converted,  and  turned  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  pgwer  of  Satan  to  God.  Thus  Peter  became 
a  Hock,  on  which  the  Church  was  founded,  being  so  eminently  and 
signally  successful  in  the  ministry  :  and  I  feel  no  reluctance  to  give 
the  full  meaning  and  scope  of  Matt.  xvi.  18,  to  any  reasonable  Ca- 
tholic, as  far  as  implies  Peter  to  have  been  next  to  our  Lord,  most 
eminently  denominated,  the  foundation  of  the  Church. 

t  Jesus  had  been  descnbed  by  Moses  in  the  Law,  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  who  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  Gen.  iii.  15;  the  seed 
of  Abraham,  in  whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed, 
Gen.  xxii.  18;  the  Shiloh,  to  whom  the  assembhng  (»f  the  people 
should  be.  Gen.  xlix.  10,  and  a  prophet  raised  up  by  Jehovah,  like  to 
Mbses.  l>eut,  xviii.   15.     In  the  prophets  he  was  described  as  thn 


46  JESUS    OBTAINS    DISCIPLES    FROM    JOHN. 

son  of  Joseph.  And  Nathaniel  said  to  bira :  Can 
there  be  anything  good  from  Nazareth?  Pbilip  an- 
swered :  Come  and  see.  Jesus  saw  Nathaniel  com- 
ing to  him,  and  said  of  him  :  Behold  a  true  Israelite, 
in  wliom  there  is  no  deceit.  Nathaniel  said  to  him  : 
Whence  know  est  thou  me  ?  Jesus  answered:  I  saw 
thee  under  the  fig-tree  before  Philip  called  thee. 
Nathaniel  replied  :  Teacher,  thou  art  the  Son  of 
God  :*    Thou  art   the   King    of    Israel.     Jesus   an- 

Branch  of  the  Lord,  Is.  iv.  2;  the  Shoot  from  Jesse,  in  whom  the 
Gentiles  would  trust,  Is.  xi.  10;  Jehovah's  Servant,  to  raise  up  the 
tribes  of  Jacob,  a  Light  to  the  Gentiles,  and  God's  Salvation  to  the 
end  of  the  earth,  Is.  xlix ;  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief;  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  but,  notwithstanding,  a  man  that 
should  be  raised  to  life  after  being  put  to  death  as  a  sacrifice,  and 
perform  ai:  the  purposes  of  the  Lord  in  the  renovation  of  mankind, 
Is.  liii.  2,  9,  10;  the  seed  and  offspring  of  David,  in  whom  his 
throne  should  be  establised  forever,  2  Sam.  vii.  12;  Ezek.  xxxiv. 
23,  and  xxxvii.  24 ;  the  Messiah,  who  should  be  cut  off,  to  make 
an  end  of  sins,  and  establish  everlasting  righteousness,  Dan.  ix.  24 ; 
the  Lord  even  the  Messenger  of  the  Covenant,  who  should  come 
to  the  second  temple,  built  by  Zerubbabel,  and  fill  it  with  his  glorj, 
Mai.  iii.  1 ;  Hag.  ii.  9.  These  prophecies  being  extant  in  the  Jewish 
Scriptures,  so  minutely  designate  the  Messiah  of  both  Jews  and 
Christians,  (between  whom  there  can  be  no  collision,)  that  infidelity 
must  be  put  to  the  blush,  if  it  possess  sensibility. 

*  The  title  son  of  God  appropriated  to  Jesus  in  the  scripture,  has 
m  all  ages  occasioned  confusion  and  discord  among  his  followers. 
Some  think  he  was  so  called  on  account  of  his  miraculous  conception. 
See  Dr.  A.  Clarke  on  Luke  1.  35.  But  this  could  not  distinguish 
him  from  John  the  Baptist,  or  Isaac  the  son  of  promise  to  Abraham. 
Others  lay  hold  on  what  is  said  of  his  resurrection,  Rom.  1.  3;  Col. 
1.  15  ;  Rev.  1.  5  ;  and  imagine  he  thence  derived  what  is  peculiar 
in  the  title  Son  of  God.  Others  are  altogether  satisfied  that  Son  of 
God  and  Messiah,  are  phrases  of  the  same  import.  John  1.  50.  Matt. 
16.  16;  Ps.  2.  5.  But  after  all,  there  seems  something  lacking 
in  these  explanations.  The  key  to  scripture  in  niany  places  must 
be  obtained  from  the  prevalent  opinions  of  the  times.  Now  all 
that  have  any  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  times,  in  which 
Christ  made  his  appearance,  must  know,  that  no  phraseology  was 
more  common  than  sons  of  gods,  in  an  essential  and  proper  sense. 
Therefore,  though  the  Christian  world  should  continue  the 
Arian  controversy,  to  the  end  of  time,  nothing  could  be  de- 
cided on  the  homoousian  question.  Hence  we  may  conclude, 
there  is  not  so  little  mystery,  in  the  phrase,   The  Son  of  God,  as 


JESUS  OBTAINS  DISCIPLES  FROM  JOHN.  47 

swered :  Because  I  said,  I  saw  thee  under  the  fig- 
tree,  dost  thou  beheve  ?  Thou  wilt  see  greater 
things  than  these.  Moreover,  he  said  to  him  :  Veri- 
ly, verily,  I  say  to  you  :  Hereafter  you  shall  see  the 
heaven  opened,*  and  the  angels  of  God  descending  to 
the  Son  of  man,  and  ascending. 

some  have  vainly  imagined.  See  my  "  Systematical  Theology  "  p, 
123.  Lect.  1 1 . 

*  This  sublime  and  figurative  address  of  Jesus  to  Nathaniel,  is 
descriptive  of  the  exalted  and  celestial  nature  of  Christianity.  Never 
before  had  such  a  display  of  God's  name,  character,  and  designs,  been 
manifested  to  the  world.  The  Gospel  brought  immortality  to  light. 
The  Only-htgottcn,  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  announced 
mercy,  peace,  salvation,  and  happiness  to  man.  The  highest  heaven 
is  laid  open.  God  comes  to  tabernacle  with  his  creatures,  man  is 
elevated  to  fellowship  with  the  celestial  inhabitants,  and  a  ceaseless 
intercourse  opened  between  the  upper  and  lower  regions  of  Jeho- 
vah's kingdom.  Christians,  the  Angels  of  God  are  ascending  and 
descending  for  your  protection  and  encouragement.  The  reign  of 
heaven  is  the  spring  of  action.  When  Andrew  found  the  Messiah, 
he  could  not  rest  till  he  found  his  brother  Simon  and  brought  him  to 
Jesus.  Thus  did  Philip  to  Nathaniel.  Religion,  like  leaven,  will 
produce  a  fermentation.  If  you  are  indifferent  and  inactive,  you 
give  evidence  to  God  and  the  world,  that  the  root  of  the  matter  is 
not  in  you.  Arise,  call  into  active,  energetic  operation,  all  the  pow- 
ers of  your  souls,  and  rest  Dot  till  you  become  inmates  of  the  upper 
temple. 


SECTION  NINTH. 

A  Marriage  Feast  in  Cana. 

On  the  third  day,  there  was  a  marriage  in  Cana  of 
Galilee;  and  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there.  Jesus 
also  and  his  disciples  were  invited  to  the  marriage 
feast.  And  the  wine  failing,  the  mother  of  Jesus  says 
to  him  :  They  have  no  wine.  Jesus  answered :  Wo- 
man, what  concerns  it  you  and  me  ?  my  time  is  not 
yet  come.  His  mother  says  to  the  servants:  Do  what- 
ever he  commands  you.  Now  there  were  six  water- 
pots  of  stone,  containing  two  or  three  measures,  pla- 


4S  A   BIARRIAOE    IN  CANA. 

ced  for  the  purification  of  the  Jews.  Jesus  says  ta 
them :  Fill  these  pots  with  water ;  and  they  filled 
them  to  the  brim.  Then  he  said  to  them  :  Draw  now, 
and  bear  to  the  Steward.  And  they  did  as  he  com- 
manded. But  when  the  Steward  tasted  the  water, 
which  had  become  wine,  and  knew  not  whence  it 
was,  (but  the  servants  who  drew  the  water,  knew,) 
he  called  the  bridegroom,  and  said  to  him :  Every 
man  presents  the  good  wine  first ;  and  when  the  guests 
have  drimk  sufficiently,  then  that  which  is  worse  ;  but 
thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine  until  now.  This  be- 
ginning of  miracles  did  Jesus,  in  Cana  of  Galilee  and 
manifested  his  glory ;  and  his  disciples  believed  in  him. 


I  am  well  pleased  with  the  observations  of  Campbel,  Wake- 
field, Clarke,  Rosenmuller,  and  Townsend  on  this  Section.  Dr. 
Clarke  thinks  John,  the  Evangelist,  was  the  bridegroom  ;  but  Lampe 
asserts  the  contrary,  on  the  authority  of  Ignatius,  Tertullian,  Aagus- 
tine,  and  Jerome.  Notwithstanding  probability  is  in  favor  of  the 
Dr's  opinion.  The  place  was  Cana  of  Galilee,  a  village  near  Caper- 
uaum,  and  west  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias;  John  iv.  47.  I'he  time  was 
the  third  day  after  he  obtained  disciples,  or  after  his  arrival  in  Gali- 
lee. The  miracle  was,  in  all  probability,  performed  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  his  relatives,  who  had  heard  of  the  transactions  attending  his 
baptism  and  the  testirriory  of  John.  Jesus'  address  to  his  mother, 
has  been  fully  proved  by  Critics,  from  the  best  authorities,  to  be  by  no 
means  disrespectful.  Augustus  addresses  Cleopatra,  Qafaei  w  yumt, 
Dion.  Cassius  L.  51  :  and  .fischylus  says,  Hejoice,  O  woman 
of  D arms.  Persae  line  155.  See  also  John  iv.  21 ;  xix.  26,  and 
XX.  13,  15  ;  and  1  Cor.  vii.  l6.  The  size  of  the  water-pots  cannot 
be  determined.  No  more  of  the  water  was  made  wine  than  was 
drawn,  nor  is  there  the  least  insinuation,  that  any  abuse  was  made  of 
this  miracle;  for  the  Steward  only  intimates  what  was  usual  at  similar 
festivals. 


SECTION  TENTH. 

John's  Last  Testimony  and  Imprisonment. 

After  this,  he,  and  his  mother,  and  his  brethren^ 
and  his  disciples,  went  down  to  Capernaum ;  but  they 
remained  there  only  a  few  days.    Afterwards  Jesus 


JOHN'S  LAST  TESTIMONY  AND  IMPRISONMENT.     49 

and  his  disciples  came  into  the  land  of  Judea  ;  where 
he  continued  with  them,  and  baptized.  And  John 
also  was  baptizing  in  yEnon,  near  Salim,  because 
there  was  much  water  in  that  place  ;*  and  the  people 
were  continually  arrivinsj  and  baptizing  themselves  : 
for  John  was  not  yet  cast  into  prison. 

Then  a  discussion  arose  between  a  disciple  of  John 
and  a  Jew  about  purification  if  and  they  came  to  John, 
and  said  to  him  :  Master,  behold  the  man,  who  was 
with  you  on  the  Jordan,  of  whom  you  bare  testimony, 
baptizes,  and  all  go  to  him.  John  answered :  A  man 
can  receive  nothing,  unless  it  be  given  him  from  hea- 
ven. |  Ye  3'ourserves  bear  me  witness,  that  I  said: 
I  am  not  the  Christ,  but  that  I  am  sent  before  him. 
He  who  possesses  the  bride  is  bridegroom,  but  the 


*  yEuon  is  placed  by  Pritius,  Li^htfoot,  and  others,  on  tliis  side  of 
Jordan ;  but  Ilottinj^er  and  Hofifmau  strongly  assert  the  .contrary. 
The  most  likel}-  opinion  is,  tiiat  iEnon  was  rather  the  name  of  a 
fountain  than  of  a  village;  the  location  of  which  seems  to  have  been 
opposite  Salim,  on  the  other  side  the  Jordan,  a  little  north  of  Betha- 
bara,  and  about  eight  miles  south  of  Scythnpolis  Here  John  bap- 
tized, because  there  was  much  water,  a  reason  sufticient  to  settle  for- 
ever, any  dispute  about  the  manner,  which  was,  indubitably,  immer- 
sion. It  also  appears,  that  the  people  di[)ned  themselves,  from  the 
form  of  the  Greek  verb  :  it  being  in  the  middle  voice  indicating  the 
action  to  be  reflected  on  the  agent. 

t  The  baptismal  washings,  then  in  process  among  the  disciples  of 
John  and  Jesus,  induced  this  discussion.  The  people  then  were 
united  in  opinion,  that  all  required  purification,  but  now  many  ima- 
gine themselves  to  be  clean  and  to  need  nothin<j.  Aw;iy  !  say  they, 
with  all  these  Jewish  ceremonies,  we  have  arrived  at  a  more  advan 
ced  state  of  things.  Baptism  is  an  anti(|unted  ceremony.  Prayer  is 
useless,  for  God  will  not  alter  his  purpose,  and  preacliino;  is  the  trade 
of  Priests!  O  tempora  et  mores!  To  what  strong  delusions  are 
some  men  abandoned!  Because  they  retain  not  God  in  their  memo- 
ries, their  foolish  minds  have  become  darken<?d.  O  Lord,  lighten 
their  darkness,  that  they  may  keep  thy  commands,  and  sin  not  against 
thy  holy  Law. 

t  John  well  understood  the  doctrine  taught  by  James,  that  every 
good  and  perfect  gift  comes  from  the  Father  of  Lights;  and  thankful 
for  what  he  had  received,  he  envies  not  the  Messiah,  to  whom  a 
larger  portion  of  the  Spirit,  had  been  communicated;  but  he  signally 
manifests  the  veracity  of  his  own  divine  conmiissioii.  by  entire  devo- 


i& 


50   John's  last  testimony  and  imprisonment. 

friend     of  the    bridegroom)    who    stands    by,    on 
hearing   him,   rejoices  greatly  at  the   bridegroom's 
voice:  therefore,  my  joy  is  complete.     He  must  in- 
crease, and  I  decrease.     He,  who  comes  from  above, 
is  above  all ;  he,  who  is  of  the  earth,  is  earthly,  and 
speaks  accordingly  ;   he,  who  comes  from  heaven, 
testifies   what  he  has  seen  and  heard,  but  none  re- 
ceive his  testimony.     Whoever  receives  his   testi- 
mony, affixes  his  seal  to  the  veracity  of  God.     The 
word  of  God  designates  him  whom  God  has  sent; 
for  he  gives  the  Spirit  without  limitation.*     The  Fa- 
ther loves  the  Son,  and  has  put  all  things  into  his 
hand.     Whoever  believes  in  the  Son  has  life  ever- 
lasting ;  but  he,  who  disobeys  the  Son,  shall  not  see 
life,  but   direful  chastiyementf  awaites  him. 


tedness  to  Christ,  and  submission  to  heaven's  appointment.  He 
compares  himself  to  the  paronymph,  or  friend  of  the  bridegroonj, 
whose  business  was,  (according  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews),  to  seek  a 
chaste  virgin  for  the  bridesiroom,  and  be  tlie  medium  of  communi- 
cation between  the  p-irties ;  to  abide  with  them  during  the  usual 
seven  days  of  the  marriage  feast,  in  order  to  promote  their  comfort  and 
hilarity;  and  after  the  marriage,  to  continue  the  friend  of  the  hus- 
band and  wife,  rejoicing  in  their  satisfaction,  and  endeavoring  to  obvi- 
ate all  discontent  or  misunderstanding.  As  the  forerunner  and  para- 
nymph  of  Jt'sus,  the  object  of  John  was,  by  his  preaching  to  obtain 
a  church,  as  a  chaste  virgin  for  Ciuist,  rejoicing  to  see  his  own  disci- 
ples go  with  the  multitude  to  Jesus;  and  the  hearing  of  his  success, 
was  as  the  sound  of  the  bridegroom's  voice,  expressing  approbation  ; 
therefore  his  joy  was  complete.  See  Schoetgen,  Lightfoot,  Clarke, 
and  Hammond,  on  this  passage. 

*  The  Jews  believed,  the  holy  spirit  was  given  in  certain  meas- 
ures to  the  prophets  ;  Rom  xii.  3,  but  .lohn  affirms  it  was  given  to 
Jesus  without  measure  ;  and  acknowledges  the  measure  communi- 
cated to  Christ,  exceeded  tiie  portion  he  h  ^d  obtained,  as  heaven  is 
higher  than  tlie  earih;  to  come  from  God  or  heaven,  implies  a  divine 
conmiission,  which  John  hrld.  John  i.  G;  yet  c<mipared  to  Jesus,  he 
considered  himself  of  the  e;)rth,  earthly,  whilst  he  assigned  a  place, 
in  heaven  or  tlie  bosom  of  the  Father,  to  Jesus,  thereby  intimating 
the  fullest  fellowship  and  union  between  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

t  There  is  here  both  a  metonomyand  a  Hebraism,  in  this  phrase  : 
a  metonomy,  anger  or  wrath  instead  of  correction  or  punishment: 
for  in  this  sense,  the  term  is  frequently  used,  Rora  ii.  5;  iii.  5:  xiii. 
4:  Ephes.  v.  6:  1  Thes.  i.  10;  v.  9.     A  Hebraism,  punishment  of 


J01i?i*S  LAST  TESTIMONY  AND  IMPRISONMENT.     51 

And  many  other  good  sayings  preached  he  to  the 
people.  But  Herod,  the  tetrarch,  being  reproved  by 
him,  on  account  of  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's 
wife,  whom  he  had  married,  and  for  all  the  evil  deeds 
he  had  done,  seized  John,  and  shut  him  in  prison  : 
for  John  had  said  to  Herod  :  It  is  unlawful  for  thee  to 
possess  thy  brother's  wife.*  Therefore,  Herodias 
was  greatly  incensed  against  him,  and  would  have 
killed  him,  but  could  not :  for  Herod  respected  John, 
knowing  him  to  be  a  righteous  and  holy  man,  and 
heard  him  gladly,  and  did  many  things  according  to 
his  advice.  And  when  he  desired  to  put  him  to  death, 
he  was  afraid  of  the  multitude,  for  they  accounted 
him  as  a  prophet. 

God,  I.  E.  tlie  most  heavy  and  awful ;  for  the  Jews  form  superlatives 
by  adding  the  term,  God.     See  Introductioii,  p.  224. 

*  It  may  be  proper  in  this  place,  to  give  a  description  of  the  Her- 
ods,  who  are  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  to  prevent  mistake. 

1.  Herod  the  Great,  King  of  Judea,  was  son  of  Antipater,  an 
Iduniean  by  birth,  but  a  Jewish  proselyte ;  to  whom  Julius  Csesar 
committed  the  government  of  Judea,  after  the  defeat  of  Pompey. 
On  the  death  ef  Antipater,  his  two  sons  succeeded  in  the  kingdom, 
Phasael  to  the  government  of  Judea  and  Herod  to  that  of  Galilee: 
but,  on  an  invasion  of  the  Parthians,  Piiasael  being  taken  captive, 
Mark  Antony  gave  to  Herod,  the  title  of  King  of  Judea,  over  which 
he  reigned  37  years.  He  married  ten  wives,  and  had  several  chil- 
dren, some  of  whom  require  notice. 

2.  Herod  Archelaus,  tetrarch  of  Idumea,  Judea,  and  Samaria.  He 
reigned  nine  years,  being  acknowledged  King  by  the  people,  but  admit- 
ted only  to  the  title  of  Ethnarch  by  Augustus,  an  intermediate  rank 
between  tetrarch  and  King,  On  ceriain  accusations  of  tyranny  being 
preferred  against  him,  by  the  chief  men  of  Judea  and  Samaria,  he  was 
banished  to  Vienna,  where  he  died, 

3.  Herod  Antipas,  tetrarch  of  Galilee,  Matt,  xiv  1,  Luke  iii.  l,who 
caused  the  Baptist  to  be  beheaded  ;  and  to  whom  Pilate  sent  Jesus. 
Luke  xxiii,  7.  According  to  both  Josephus  and  Luke,  he  was  a  very 
vicious  prince.  He  was  Son  of  Herod  the  Great  by  Cleopatra.  He 
married  the  daughter  of  Aretas,  King  of  Arabia,  whom  he  soon 
expelled,  having  seduced  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife.  To 
avenge  the  insult,  Areias  made  war  on  him,  and  routed  his  army. 
He  was  afterwards  banished  to  Lyons,  and  then  to  Spain,  where 
boih  he  and  Herodias  died. 

4.  Herod  Philip, son  of  Herod  the  Great  by  Mariamne,  daughter 
of  Simon,  the  High-priest.     He  was  tetrarch  of  I^urea  and  Tra«ht»- 


SECTION  ELEVENTH. 

Christ's  Journey  through  Samaria. 
AV'hen,  therefore,  Jesus  knew,  that  tiie  Pharisees 
weie  iiiformed*  of  his  making  and  baptizing  more 
disciples  than  John,  (though  Jesus  himself  did  not 
baptize,!  but  his  disciples,)  and  hearing  that  John 
was  cast  into  prison,  he  left  Judea,  and  journeyed  to- 

uitis,  Luke  iii.  I ;  and  husbiind  of  lierodias,  who  was  daughter  of 
Aiistobulus,  son  ot  Herod  the  Great  hy  Mariamue, -daughter  of 
Hircauus,  the  last  of  the  Asmoneaii  race.  1  know  iliere  exists  a 
difficulty  among  the  Historians,  on  this  subject,  whicli  has  inclined 
^  several  to  believe  in  two  Philips;  the  one  mentioned  in  Luke  iii,  1, 
und  tlie  other  in  the  lyth  verse  of  the  same  chapter;  but  tliis  opin- 
ion seems  very  improbable.  Moreover,  we  ouuht  not  to  infer  any 
thing  from  the  history  of  their  wives;  for  it  is  well  known,  that  the 
family  of  the  Herods  were  totalh' indelicate. 

0.  Herod  Agrippa,  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  by  Aristobulus. 
lie  was  imprisoned  by  Tiberias,  but  released,  and  placed  on  the 
throne  of  Judea  by  Caligida.  He  cast  Peier  into  prison  and  slew 
James;  and  after  a  worthless  reign,  died  by  the  visitation  of  God. 
Acts  xii.  1,  23;  Josephus'  Antiquities,  book  xix.  chap.  vii. 

6.  Herod  Aurippa,  the  younger,  and  son  of  Agrippa,  who  succee- 
ded his  uncle  Hero;l,  King  of  Chalcis,  son  of  Aristobulus.  Before 
this  Agrippa,  I'aul  made  his  celei)rated  defence.  He  was  the  last 
King  of  a  degenerate  family,  and  of  a  line  ol  effeminate  princes. 

*  We  cannot  believe,  that  the  same;  person,  who  had  (according  to 
the  present  arrangement  of  John's  Gospel)  acttd  so  magisterial  a  part 
at  Jerusalem,  in  cleansiuir  tiie  temple,  wiudd  have  afterwards,  in  so 
short  a  time,  as  the  narrative  sutrgests,  siiown  so  much  submission  to 
the  prejudices  of  the  Pharisees  as  to  retire  from  Judea,  on  hearing 
that  the  Pharisees  had  been  informed  of  his  success  in  making  pro- 
selytes. We  thereiore  fully  beli<!ve,  that  our  Master  did  not  yet  de- 
sire to  make  himself  known  as  the  iNlessiah  ;  and,  consequently,  that 
arrangement  of  events,  which  causes  our  Lord  to  begin  his  ministry 
with  such  authoritative  and  regal  proceedings,  as  are  narrated  in  the 
second  chapter  of  John,  cannot  be  correct.  Ail  the  other  Evange- 
lists place  the  cleansing  of  the  temple  among  the  transactions  ol  the 
4ast  Passover,  and  therefore  the  account  of  Jidjn  is  misplaced,  and 
should  be  restored  to  the  proper  order  of  chronological  location. 

t  Jesus  himself  did  not  baptize,  for  a  v^ry  evident  reason  ;  that  he 
might  not  baptize  in  his  own  name  :  and,  moreover,  having  disciples 
from  the  commencement  of  his  ministry,  it  was  more  suitable  for  the 
servant  than  for  the  Master  to  perform  the  office  of  initiating  prose- 
lytes.    Moreover,  Christ  might  have    foreseen   that  disposition  re- 


Christ's  journey  through  samaSia- 

wards  Galilee.  But  he  could  not  avoid  passii 
through  Samaria.*  Therefore,  he  came  to  a  cit}'  v- 
Samaria  called  Sychar,  near  a  tract  of  land  which  Ja- 
cob gave  to  Joseph  his  son.  Now  a  well  of  Jacob 
was  there,  and  Jesus  being  wearied  of  his  journey, 
(it  being  about  the  sixth  hour,t)  accordingly  sat  down 
at  the  well. 

A  woman  of  Samaria  came  to  draw  water.  Jesus 
said  to  her  :  Give  me  to  drink  :  for  his  disciples  had 
gone  to  the  city  to  buy  food.     Then  the  Samaritan 


proved  by  Paul,  1  Cor.  i.  12,  which  led  the  early  Chrislians  to  vnlue  ^ 
themselves  in  proportion  tu  the  eminence  of  the  apo^ile,  or  leaclicr,  ^W"' 
by  whom  tiiey  were  baptized. 

*  Jesus  could  have  avoided  passing  through  Samaria,  but  not  with- 
out adopting  a  very  circuitous  rou;e  of  nearly  doubh;  the  len^jtii,  and 
beset  with  difficulties.  As  Samaria  lay  north  ol"  Jemsuleiu,  and  oa 
the  direct  and  public  road  to  Galilee,  John  very  projjei ly  says :  it  was 
uecessary  for  iiim  to  pass  throujih  Samaria. 

Svchar,  called  Shecheni  in  the  Old  Testament,  became  the  ca- 
pital of  Samaria  after  the  ruin  of  that  province  by  Salmanezer.  It 
l.iy  near  the  foot  of  Mount  Geiizini,  either  in.  or  by  the  valley  of 
Achor;  being  about  ten  miles  from  Shiloh,  forty  from  Jerusalem, 
and  fit'ty-two  from  Jericho.  Commentators  have  noted  many  re- 
markable things  in  the  history  of  this  place  ;  a  few  of  which  we  feel 
disposed  to  lay  before  the  reader: — 1.  This  is  said  to  be  the  place 
where  Abram  first  stopped  on  his  journey  from  liaran  to  Canaan. — 
2.  The  place  where  God  appeared  to  Abraham,  and  gave  the  jiro- 
mise  of  the  land  to  his  seed.  3.  The  place  where  Abraliam  first 
built  an  alrar  to  God,  and  invoked  his  name.  4.  This  place  was 
bought  by  Jacob  of  the  children  of  Hamor,  for  an  hundred  lambs, 
Gen.  xxxiii.  19,  and  xlviii.  22:  and  here  headmittcci  the  iirst  prose- 
lytes into  the  Covenant  privilegeu  of  Israel.  5.  Here  was  the  valley 
of  Achor  promised  as  the  door  of  hope,  and  here  Jesus  first  avowed 
himself  the  Messiah,  and  preached  salvation  to  the  Genu'es.  Here 
also  was,  probably,  the  first  society  of  believers  in  Jesus. 

t  The  Jews  reckoned  lin)e  from  sun-set,  and  began  their  day  of 
24  hours  at  that  time.  VVMlh  the  opinion  that  God  give  the  impetus 
to  the  earth,  on  the  eastern  side,  thereby  producing  first  the  niirht, 
and  then  the  day,  we  have  no  dis[iosition  to  cavil ;  for  we  know  little 
of  the  matter.  The  Jews,  however,  divided  the  time  of  the  diurnal 
revolution  into  two  parts,  called  night  and  day,or  evening  and  morn- 
ing. To  each  of  which  they  allotted  twelve  liouis.  The  twelve 
bours  of  the  day  began  with  sun-rise,  and  ended  at  sun-set.  But  as 
the  day  was  not  always  of  the  same  length,  their  hours  couid  not  be 


•34         Christ's  journey  through  samaria. 

woman  said  to  him  :  Why  dost  thou,  being  a  Jew,  ask 
drink  of  me,  who  am  a  Samaritan  ?  (for  Jews  hold  no 
friendly  intercourse  with  Samaritans.*)  Jesus  an- 
swered, and  said  to  her :  Hadst  thou  known  the 
bounty  of  God,  and  who  he  is  that  says  to  thee  :  Give 
me  to  drink ;  thou  wouldst  have  asked  him,  and  he 
would  have  given  thee  life-giving  water.  The  wo- 
man said  to  him  :  Sir,  thou  hast  no  bucket,  and  the 
well  is  deep  ;  whence,  then,  hast  thou  the  life-giving 
water  ?  Art  thou  greater  than  our  father  Jacob,  who 
gave  us  the  well,  and  drank  of  it  himself,  his  sons, 
and  his  cattle  ?     Jesus  answered  :  Whoever  drinks  of 


ahva3's  of  equal  duration.  The  cause  of  this  irregularity  originated 
in  calculating  by  the  shadow :  for  the  human  stature,  and  afterwards 
the  gnomen  of  the  dial,  was  the  first  and  most  ancient  indexes  of  time. 
As  a  general  rule,  then,  we  say,  the  first  hour  of  the  Jewish  day 
began  at  six  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  consequently  their  sixth  hour  was  the 
same  as  our  twelflh,  or  mid-day,  which  was  their  usual  hour  of  din- 
ner. Hence  the  disciples  had  gone  to  the  city  of  Shechem,  or  Sy- 
char,  to  purchase  food  for  their  meridian  repast. 

*  The  Samaritans  dwelt  in  the  centre  of  Judea,  and  occupied  that 
protion  of  country  allotted  to  the  sons  of  Joseph,  Manasseh  and 
Ephraim,  and  frequently  professed  themselves  to  be  the  offspring  of 
Jacob :  but  the  truth  is,  they  were  a  mixed  race,  consisting  partly  of 
the  descendants  of  Israel,  and  partly  of  Gentiles,  who  were  trans- 
planted into  that  country  by  Shalmanezer,  king  of  Assyria,  who, 
after  three  years'  siege,  took  Samaria  and  destroyed  the  kingdom  of 
Israel,  in  the  ninth  year  of  Hosea  King  of  Israel,  in  the  seventh  year 
of  Hezekiah  King  of  Jerusalem,  947  years  after  the  people  came  up 
out  of  Egypt,  and  240  years  after  the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  from 
Rehoboam.  Josephus  and  the  Jews  call  the  Samaritans,  Cutheans, 
from  Cuthah,  a  country  of  Persia,  whence  they  emigrated  on  the 
captivity  of  the  ten  tribes.  Hence  the  worship  of  the  Samaritans 
became  a  mixture  of  Judaism  and  Paganism,  modelled  after  the 
similitude  of  the  temple  service  at  Jeriisalem,  2  Kings  xvii.  18. 
Calmet, Cornel,  Grotius,  think  many  of  the  Israelites  returned  with 
the  Jews,  on  their  deliverance  from  the  Babylonian  captivity.  Jer. 
jii.  18  ;  Ezek.  iv.  6;  Hosea  i.  11 ;  Ezek.  xvi.  53. 

The  Samaritans  proposed  to  join  the  Jews  in  rebuilding  the  tem- 
ple, but  their  proposal  was  rejected,  Ezra  iv.  1 — 3.  Not  long  after, 
Sanballet,  by  permission  of  Alexander  the  Greiit,  erected  a  temple 
on  Mount  Gerizira,  and  made  his  son-in-law,  Manasseh,  brother  of 
Jaddua  the  high  priest  at  Jerusalem,  priest  of  the  altar  at  Gerizim. 
Thus  mixed  together,  the  Israelites,  fugitive  Jews,  and  Catheans,  main- 


CHRIST  S  JOURNEY  THROUGH  SAMARIA.  OO 

this  water  shall  thirst  again ;  but  whosoever  shall 
drink  of  the  water,  which  I  will  give  him,  will  thirst 
no  more ;  for  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him,  will  be- 
come in  him  a  fountain  of  hfe-giving  water,  springing 
up  to  an  everlasting  life.*  The  woman  said  to  him : 
Sir,  give  me  this  water,  that  I  may  not  thirst,  neither 
come  hither  to  draw  •  Jesus  replied :  Go  call  thy 
husband,  and  come  hither.  The  woman  answered  : 
I  have  no  husband.  Jesus  said  to  her :  Thou  hast 
spoken  well ;  for  thou  hast  had  five  husbands,  but  he 
whom,  thou  now  hast,  is  not  thy  husband.  Thy  say- 
ing, therefore,  is  true.  The  woman  said  to  him : 
Sir,  I  perceive,  that  thou  art  a  prophet.  Our  fathers 
worshipped  in  this  mountain,  but  ye  say,  the  place 
where  men  ought  to  w  orship  is  in  Jerusalem.!     Jesus 


tained  a  popular  religion,  accommodated  to  the  times,  but  veering  to 
the  gale  as  seemed  most  advantageous.  When  Alexander  favored 
the  Jews  of  Jerusalem,  the  Samaritans  avowed  themselves  Israelites 
and  Jews,  but  when  Antiochus  Epiphanes  oppressed  the  Jews,  and 
polluted  the  temple,  the  Samaritans  asserted  their  origin,  as  a  colony 
of  Medes  and  Persians,  and  dedicated  their  temple  to  Grecian  Jupiter. 
Still  they  highly  revered  the  law  of  Moses,  and  we  are  indebted  to 
them  for  the  most  accurate  copy  of  the  Pentateuch,  which  tho}'^  have 
preserved  in  great  purity  since  the  erection  of  the  temple  on  Geri- 
zim  :  for  from  that  time  there  was  no  intercourse  between  them  and 
the  Jews;  therefore, no  more  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  were  received 
by  the  Samaritans.  See  an  excellent  dissertation  on  the  Samaritans, 
in  the  Introduction  of  Pritius  to  the  ^Reading  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment,    Consult  also  Josephus'  Antiquities,  B.  ix.   14,  xi.  8,  xii.  5. 

*  Priestley  and  Clarke  understand  liring-water,  to  mean  spring- 
water,  in  opposition  to  dead  or  stagnant  water,  contained  in  ponds  or 
cisterns  ;  but  I  think  the  phrase  implies  much  more,  as  appears  from 
the  words  of  our  Lord  here,  and  in  Chap.  vii.  37 — 40:  I  tlierofore 
give  to  the  participle,  ^wi/,  the  force  of  the  Hiphil  conjugation  in 
Hebrew,  and  translate  life-giving  bread.  John  vi.  51;  life-giving 
oracles;  Acts  vii.  38;  life-giving  hope,  1  Peter  i.  3.  See  my  dis- 
sertation on  the  Hebraisms  of  the  New  Testament. 

+  The  Snmaritans  lield  that  Gerizim  was  equally,  if  not  more  divine- 
ly appointed  than  Jeruzalem,  a  place  of  worship.  On  that  mountain 
Jacob  built  an  altar  for  the  true  God,  Gen.  xxii.  2,  and  xxxiii.  20  ; 
and  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch  reads  Gerizim  instead  of  Ebal.  Deut. 
xxvii.  4;  on  which  mountain  Israel  were  commanded  to  build  aw 
altar  ^and  offer  sacrifices :  and  Keauicott,  strongly  contends  for  the 


CHRIST'S  JOURNEY  THROUGH  SAMARIA. 

I  Jswered :  Believe  me,  woman :  the  time  comes 
hen  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  at  Jerusalem,  shall 
ye  worship  the  Father.  Ye  worship  what  ye  know 
not  :*  we  worship  what  we  know,  for  salvation  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Jews.  But  the  time  comes,  and  is 
now,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall  worship  the 
Father  in  spirit  and  truth;  for  such  are  the  worship- 
pers whom  the  Father  requires.  God  is  Spirit,! 
and  his  worshippers  ought  to  worship  in  spirit  and 

authority  of  the  Samaritan  reading.  Hence  the  temple  was  erected 
here  by  Sanballel  about  330  years  before  Christ. — Notwithstanding 
.Terusalem  was  expressly  pointed  out  as  the  proper  place  for  the 
erection  of  the  temple  ;  and  our  Lord's  remarks  to  the  woman, that  Sal- 
vation was  from  the  Jews,  and  the  Samaritans  worshipped,  they  knew 
not  what,  clearly  indicate  the  preference  due  both  to  the  place  and 
worship  at  Jerusalem. 

*  The  Samaritans  were  like  most  Christians,  they  worshipped, 
they  knew  not  what  ;  and  their  history  seems  to  indicate  that  they 
cared  not  what.  Nothing  can  be  more  important  than  correct  views 
of  Deitv,  and  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  worship  and  adoration  of  the 
One  only,  living,  and  true  God.  Thr  Samaritans  from  the  erection 
of  the  temple  by  Saiiballet,  preserved  something  like  the  form  of 
the  Jewish  worshi  p,  but  it  was  like  that  of  modern  Christians,  pol- 
luted by  many  additions  ;  from  which  cause  Jesus  manifests  disapro- 
bation.  No  worship  addressed  to  any  other  being  but  the  God  of 
the  Jews,  will  ever  obtain  the  approbation  of  Jesus. 

t  God  is  Sjnrif.  The  doctrine  of  a  material  God  was  too  ab- 
surd for  intelligent  heathens,  even  in  the  darkest  ages.  The  Plato- 
nists  called  him,  mind,  and  the  Pythagorians  held  it  to  be  the  chief  ar- 
article  of  faith,  to  believe  God  anuixain^,  incorporeal.  Aristotle  thought 
it  necessary  to  assert,  that  the  First  Cause  was  autpi^,  without  parts. 
Nay  even  the  Stoics,  (the  great  fatalists  of  antiquity)  determined 
that  God  was  an  intelligent  Spirit,  without  form.  See  Whitby  on 
this  passage. 

Dr.  A.  Clarke  has  well  said,  "This  Is  one  of  the  first,  the  greatest, 
the  most  sublime,  and  necessary  trutlis  in  the  compass  of  nature."* — 
He  that  would  come  to  God  must  believe  that  he  exists:  without 
fciith  in  this  FIRST  principle,  religion  would  be  the  weakness  of  foli^- ! 
The  SECOND  most  essential  article  in  religion  is  the  sjArituality  of 
the  first  cause.  Without  this,  true  religion  cannot  subsist,  and  it  is 
demonstrably  evident,  that  belief  in  a  material  God,  is  blank  Athe- 
ism, or,  what  is  equally  injurious,  the  foundation  of  a  sensual,  gross, 
and  demoralizing  idolatry !  The  worship  of  the  heathen  world  was 
totally  deduced  from  the  degraded  rank  of  their  gods,  to  which  they 
ascribed  corporeity ;  and  thence  easily  deduced,  that  scHsnal,  car- 


Christ's  journey  through  samaria.         57 

truth.  The  woman  said  to  Iiim :  I  know  Messiah 
comes  :  when  he  comes,  he  will  tell  us  all  things.  Je- 
sus answered  :  I,  the  person  speaking  to  you,  am  he. 
On  this,  came  his  disciples  and  wondered  that  he 
talked  with  a  woman  ;  yet  none  said  :     What  seekest 

nal,  and  deb;isinp  superstition  that  disgraced  the  page  of  histor}', 
which  recorded  the  disgusting  recital  of  their  obscene  deeds,  per- 
formed in  adulation  of  their  earthly  and  corporeal  gods.  He  who 
regards  nature  as  iiis  deity,  or,  which  is  manifestly  the  same,  holds 
<iod  to  be  a  principle  inherent  in  the  material  world,  must  bo  either 
deficient  in  intellect  to  perceive,  or  shocked  at  the  consequences  of 
his  alarmino:  creed,  if  he  fall  not  down,  in  self-adoration,  and  deem 
his  higliest  perfection  to  consist  in  the  gratification  of  every  passion 
and  appetite  of  his  sensual  nature.  On  this  principle,  the  doctrine 
of  the  Epicureans,  would  be  fully  established;  and  the  doctrine  of 
self-government  and  mortification  of  the  flesh,  taught  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  should  be  exploded  from  the  moral  world,  as  the  degene- 
rate frenzy  of  Cynics  and  Anchorites, 

Let  it  be  ever  remembered,  that  when  God  establisiied  the  Jewish 
ritual,  he  gave  repeated  cautions,  not  to  liken  hitn  to  any  being  in  earth 
or  heaven,  Ex.  xx.  4,  Deut.  iv.  1(3 — 19,  and  v.  8  :  but  this  injunc- 
tion, would  have  been  arbitrary  and  unmeaning,  if  God  had  pos- 
sessed corporality  ;  for  then,  a  likeness  of  him  would  have  been  a 
gracious  condescension  to  his  creatures,  and  a  preventive  to  the 
introduction  or  prevalence  of  idolatry.  All  the  propriety  of  the 
restriction,  consists  in  the  spirituality  of  the  Divine  nature ;  from 
which,  is  deduced  all  the  morality  in  t!ie  Universe,  and  all  the  spir- 
ituality of  a  pure  worship.  Hence,  all  the  wisdom  and  propriety  of 
the  apostolical  injunction,  to  mortify  the  desires  of  the  flesh  that  we 
may  live.  Father  of  Spirits,  Light  and  Life  of  universal  nature, 
cause  thy  sacred,  supernatural  influence  to  pervade  and  rule  the 
aflections  of  thy  creatures,  that  all  within  them  may  be  brought  into 
subjection  to  the  law  of  Christ. 

The  prolixity  of  this  note  might  have  been  spared,  had  not  the 
present  age,  manifested  a  te-iidency*to  the  worst  species  of  superstition 
and  fiinaticism  ;  namely,  infidelity:  for  however  strange  it  may  a[)pear, 
it  will  be  found  true,  that  the  extremes  of  credulity  and  scepticism 
are  points  of  fanaticism  and  mental  imbecility,  which  nearly  ap- 
proach contact,  wiiilst  strength  of  intellect  and  the  voire  of  llevela- 
tion  hold  tenaciously  the  gohien  mediocrity.  The  great  souls  of 
Newton,  Locke,  Bacon,  Orifen,  Plato,  and  Socrates,  were  never 
degraded  by  the  meanness  of  a  sensual  superstition,  nor  the  pue- 
rile folly  of  lawless  scepticism.  Indeed,  the  low  superstition  of  the 
vulvar,  may  be  compared  to  the  dotage  of  old  age  ;  and  the  oscillating 
doubt  of  the  sceptic,  to  flie  stagoferiutf  rS  a  drunken  man. 

The  crreat  desiirn  of  that.  Grace  of  God  which  bringcth  salvation 

8 


5B         Christ's  journey  through  samaria. 

thou?  or  why  talkest  thou  with  her?*  Then  the 
Woman  leaving  her  bucket,  departed  into  the  city, 
and  said  to  tlie  inhabitants  :  Hitiier !  see  a  man  who 
told  me  all  things  Avhatever  I  have  done  :  Why  is  not 
this  the  Christ  ?  They  left  the  city  and  came  to  him. 
In  the  mean  time,  his  disciples  entreated  him,  say- 
ing: Master,  eat.  But  he  replied:  I  have  food  of 
which  ye  are  ignorant.  Then  said  the  disciples,  one 
to  the  other :  Must  not  some  person  have  brought 
him  food  ?  Jesus  answered :  My  meat  is  to  do  the 
will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  perform  his  work. 
Say  ye  not :  After  four  monthsf  comes  the  harvest. 

to  all  men,  Tit.  ii.  11,  is  to  teach  men  to  deny  ungodliness  and 
wordly  lusts ,  but  if  God  be  nature,  are  not  all  natural  and  fleshly 
desires,  godly  ?  yet  the  apostle  says:  The  natural  man  receives  not 
the  things  of  God,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned,  1  Cor.  ii. 
14.  If  God  bo  nature,  the  carnal  mind  cannot  be  enmity  to  God, 
Rom.  viii.  7;  nor  can  brutality  in  man,  be  blaraeable;  for  the  beasts 
of  the  lleld  must  be  the  most  godly  and  religious,  seeing  they  arc, 
undoubtedly,  the  most  natural,  and  the  least  artificial.  Spirit  of 
purity !  Spiritualize  our  affectious,  and  mortify  our  sensual  desires. 

*  It  was  unusual  with  the  Jews  to  converse  with  women  in  pub- 
lic, and  the  astonishment  of  the  disciples  might  be  increased,  oa 
perceiving  that  the  woman  was  a  Samaritan;  whom,  the  Jews  regar- 
ded with  abhorrence. 

t  Newcome,  in  his  "Observations  on  the  conduct  of  our  Lord  as 
a  public  instructor,"  has  shown  that  his  discourses  frequently  sprang 
out  of  the  occasion,  and  his  images  were  drawn  from  familiar  ob- 
jects. "I  freely  acknowledge,"  says  Whiston,  "  Sir  Isaac  Newton's 
observation,  that  Christ,  in  his  parabolical  discourses,  was  wont  to 
allude  to  things  present,  though  not  entirely  new,  is  notwithstanding 
very  true  and  curious :  by  this  rule,  he  was  pleased  to  examine  the 
several  sections  of  my  'Harmony  of  the  Four  Evangelists.'  No 
Chronological  arrangement  of  the  Gospel  Histor}',  can  ever  be  true 
or  correct,  which  neglects  or  disregards  this  rule.''  Hence,  it  clearly 
follows,  that  it  was  seed-time,  when  our  Lord  addressed  this  beautiful 
comparison  to  his  di?ciples,  ''  Say  ye  not,  there  remain  four  months, 
and  then  comes  the  harvest?  Behold,  I  tell  you,  the  fields  are  white 
already  for  harvest."  Now,  as  the  liarvest  did  not  commence  until 
the  ofi'eringof  the  first-fruits,  at  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  about  the^ 
beginning  of  April,  it  follows,  that  our  Lord  must  have  passed 
through  Samaria,  on  his  journey  to  Galilee,  about  the  beginning  of 
December:  but  Mr.  Toynard,  who  thinks  the  wheat,  and  not  the 
barley,  harvest  is  intended,  places  the  time  of  Christ's  discourse  at 


Christ's  jouR?fEY  tiiroitgii  saMxVria.         59 

Beliold,  I  tell  you,  Lift  your  eyes  and  view  the  fields ; 
they  are  already  white  for  the  harvest  !*  The  reaper 
receives  wages,  and  collects  fruit  for  the  continuance 
of  life,t  that  both  the  sower  and  reaper  may  rejoice 
together.  For  in  this,  the  proverb  is  verified  :  One 
sows  and  another  reaps.  I  send  you  to  reap  that  on 
which4  you  have  bestowed  no  labour :  others  have 
laboured,  and  ye  take  possession  of  their  labours. 

Now,  many  Samaritans  of  that  city,  believed  in 
him,  through  the  testimony  of  the  woman  :  He  told 
all  things  whatever  I  had  done  ;  therefore,  when 
these  Samaritans  came  to  him,  they  besought  him  to 
abide  with  them,  and  he  remained  there  two  days. 
And  many  more  believed  through  his  own  discourse  ; 
and  said  to  the  woman  :  No  longer  does  our  belief  de- 
pend on  your  report ;  for  we  ourselves  have  heard 
and  know  that  tliis  is  indeed  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 


Sychar,  about  the  middle  of  January;  for  according  to  his  opinion, 
the  time  of  tlie  Passover  fell,  that  year,  on  the  28th  of  March, 

The  fixing  of  this  epoch,  is  of  great  importance  in  the  Chronology 
cf  the  Gospel  History :  for  supposing  Christ  to  have  been  baptized 
about  the  commencement  of  the  Jewish  civil  year,  at  the  autumnal 
equinox,  the  time  of  his  trial  being  forty  days,  would  increase  the 
date  to  November;  his  first  journey  to  Galilee  and  return,  would 
protract  the  season  towards  the  beginning  of  December ;  and  the 
imprisonment  of  John,  occurring  almost  immediately  after,  Christ 
resolved  to  leave  Judea  and  return  again  into  Galilee, 

*  The  Samaritans,  on  receiving  the  information  of  the  woman  con- 
cerning Jesus,  came  forth  in  multitudes,  to  see  and  hear  the  wonder- 
ful prophet. — Hence,  Jesus  takes  occasion  to  remark,  that  usually, 
four  months  intervened  between  the  sowing  of  the  seed  and  the 
reaping  of  the  harvest ;  but  here,  a  supernatural  event  had  occurred  ; 
that  day  he  had  sown  the  seed  of  the  divine  word,  and  lo  !  a  present 
harvest  is  produced,  by  the  eager  attention  and  immediate  conver- 
sion of  these  candid  Samaritans,  O  !  how  easy  is  reconciliation  to 
God,  when  the  mind  perceives  its  own  wants,  and  apprehends  the 
divine  mercy ! 

■f"  Our  Lord  say«,  the  reaper  receives  wages  and  gathers  fruit  for 
continuance  of  life;  or,  as  it  is  in  the  common  version,"  life  eternal," 
that  both  reaper  and  sower  may  rejoice  together;  hence,  we  ration- 
ally conclude,  that  the  fruits  for  everlasting  life,  belong  both  to  the 
jpreachr.r  and  his   convert.     WhctljcT.  therefor^";  a  man's  future  Jiff 


SiSCTION  TWELFTH. 

Cure  of  the  Officer's  Son. 

Now,  after  these  two  da3's,  Jesus  departed  thence 
uiid  returned,  ill  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  into  Gali- 
lee. Then  he  came  again  into  Cana,  *  where  he  had 
made  water,  wine :  and  a  certain  king's  oilicer,t 
whose  son  was  sick  at  Capernaum,  hearing  that  Jesus 
was  come  from  Judea  mto  Gahlee,  went  to  him  and 
entreated  him  to  go  down  and  heal  his  son,  who  was 
about  to  die.  Then  Jesus  said  to  him :  Can  you  not 
beheve,  unless  you  see  signs  and  wonders  ?  The 
Officer  said  to  hfm:  Sir,  come  down,  before  my  child 
die.  Jesus  answered:  Go,  thy  son  lives.  The  man 
believed  the  word  of  Jesus  and  went :  but  as  he  was 
going  down,  his  servants  met  him  and  said :  Thy  son 
lives.  Then  he  enquired  of  them,  the  hour  w  hen  he 
began  to  recover,  and  they  answered  :  Yesterday,  at 
the  seventh  hour  the  fever  left  him.  Then  the  father 
knew,  that,  in  the  very  same  hour,  Jesus  told  him  : 
Thy  son  lives  ;  and  he  and  all  his  family  believed. 
This  second  miracle,  wrought  Jesus  on  coming  again! 
out  of  Judea  into  Galilee. 


depend  on  the  proper  use  of  the  present,  or  not,  we  may  assure  our- 
selves, that  men  will  be  gainers  in  time  and  eternity,  by  their  faithful 
exertions  in  the  work  of  regeneration. 

*  Newcome  supposes  that  the  direct  road  from  Samaria  to  Cana, 
was  through  Nazareth ;  but,  in  order  to  avoid  that  city  for  the  pre- 
sent, Jesus  took  another  route.  The  distance  from  Shechem  to  Cana, 
was  40  miles;  from  Cana  to  Nazareth,  10;  from  Naxiweth  to  Caper- 
uaum,  23;  and  from  Capernaiun  to  Jerusidem,  Co. 

+  The  word  nobleman,  is  not  well  chosen  by  the  English  transla- 
tors, seeing  it  usually  denotes  rank,  arising  from  birthright  or  patri- 
niony.  The  Syriac  describes  him  as  a  vice-roy;  the  Greek  implies, 
a  king's  ofRcer ;  and  Vulgate,  has  regulus,  a  little  king.  He  had,  prob'- 
ably,  been  one  of  the  household  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  was,  at  that 
time,  an  officer  of  the  court  of  Herod  Antipas,  tetrarch  of  Galilee, 
Ojiinion    fixes   on   Manaan,  Acts  xiii.  1,  or  Chuza,  Luke  viii.  3. 

t  Agreeably,  to  the  opinion  of  Campbell,  Pearce,  and  Clarke,  I 
have  followed  the  general  order  of  construction,  by  connecting  na\ty 
and  i7.0M\      The  Evangelist  sayS;  that  tiiis  was  the  second    miracle 


SECTION  THIRTEENTH. 

Jesus  opens  his  Commission  at  NAZARETir* 

And  he  came  to  Nazareth,  where  he  had  beeii 
brought  up,  and  entered,  accordmg  to  liis  custom*  on 
the  Sabbath,  into  the  Synagogue,  and  stood  up  to 
read.f  And  the  roll  of  Isaiah  the  Prophet  was  deliv- 
ered to  hiin ;  and  having  unrolled^  the  volume,  he 


Jesus  wrought.  Tlie^rs^,  he  performed  when  he  returned  to  Gali- 
lee alter  his  baptism,  and  this  second  miracle  he  did,  on  coming  again 
into  Cana  of  Galilee  ;  hence,  John  iv.  44,  45,  must  be  out  of  proper 
})Iace,  and  those  Harmonists  and  Commentators,  who  suppose  that 
Jesus  had  attended  a  passover  at  Jerusalem;  according  to  John  ii. 
13 — 18,  and  wrought  miracles  on  lhat»occasion,  as  is  implied  by  John 
ii.  23,  and  iv.  45,  before  he  returned  through  Samaria  into  Galilee, 
as  recorded,  John  iv.  1 — 43,  must  be  greatly  mistaken  :  for  these 
passages  are  entirely  misplaced ;  and  tl>e  supposition  is  completely 
refuted,  by  the  unequivocal  language  of  the  text  under  consideration, 
which  pronounces  the  cure  of  the  officer's  son,  the  second  miracle 
Jesus  performed. 

*  Lightfoot  supposes  the  phrase,  "  according  to  his  custom,"  im- 
plies the  continual  attendance  of  Jesus  on  the  public  worship  of  the 
Synagogue,  while  he  lived  at  Nazareth  as  a  private  individual. 
Though  there  were  many  things  defective,  and  perhaps  some  things 
blameable,  in  the  service  and  worshippers ;  yet,  our  Master  never 
absented  himself.  Let  every  man  make  the  best  choice ;  but,  let 
none  neglect  attendance.  The  Apostle  says  :  Forsake  not  the  assenv- 
bling  of  yourselves  :  may  his  wholesome  advice,  and  the  good  exam- 
ple of  our  Lord,  never  be  despised,  uor  forgotten,  by  any  that  call 
themselves  Christians. 

t  Though  the  Levites  only,  were  appointed  to  teach  the  people 
and  superintend  the  schools  of  the  forty-eight  cities,  Josh.  xxi.  Deut. 
xxxviii.  10,  and  IMal.  ii.  7,  yet  sometimes  men  of  other  tribes,  who 
studied  the  law,  obtained  a  limited  authority  from  the  Sanhedrim,  to 
leach  and  preach ;  moreover,  the  Jews  had  a  law  that  if  any  man 
professed  to  have  received  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  he  was  permitted 
to  speak,  but  if  the  Sanhedrim,  who  were  Judges  in  this  case,  deter- 
mined that  he  was  not  a  prophet,  he  could  not  continue  to  preach, 
except  at  his  peril.  On  this  condition,  Jesus  obtained  the  privilege 
ut  JNazareth  and  in  the  Synagogues  of  Galilee.  Lightfoot  says,  though 
the  Jews  did  not  allow  the  liberty  of  teaching,  to  the  illiterate  and 
mechanics,  yet,  they  granted  it  to  such  as  set  upTor  heads  or  leaders 
of  sects ;  that  they  might  learn  their  doctrines,  and  not  condemn 
them  unheard. 

X  The  sucred  voluijies   used  in  the  Synagogues,   nrr%  n'riftrn  on 


(j'i  JESUS   OPENS    HIS    COMMISSION. 

louiid  flic  {)Iace  where  it  was  written:  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  on  me,  because  he  has  anointed*  me  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor  ;  he  has  sent  me  to 
proclaim  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovery  of 
sight  to  the  blind;  to  release  the  oppressed,  and 
announce  the  acceptable  year  of  the  lord.I 


skins,  parchment,  or  vellum,  and  rolled  on  two  rollers,  so  that  whilst 
the  person  reads  from  right  to  left,  he  rolls  off  with  the  left  hand,  and 
rolls  on  with  the  right.  Hence,  Jesus  unrolled  the  volume  till  he 
found  the  passage  intended  for  his  text,  as  Houbigant  suggests,  and 
not  the  lesson  of  the  day,  as  M'Knight  and  others  contend. 

*  The  peculiar  names  given  to  Jesus  and  his  doctrine,  seem  to 
have  taken  rise,  from  the  first  reason  assigned  for  the  authority  of 
his  commission.  The  first  verb,  cx.^if}£,  indicates  the  appellation, 
Christy  and  the  second  verb,  cvayytu'i^iaOat,  suggests  the  cause 
of  his  doctrine  being  called  the  Gospel,  or  glad  tidings.  The  pas- 
sage read  by  our  Lord,  is  found  Isaiah  Ixi.  1,  but  contrary  to  the 
fancy  of  those,  who  contend  that  he  read  the  lesson  of  the  day,  he 
connects  with  it  Is.  xlii.  7-  Thus,  the  Master  and  pattern  of  Chris- 
tian teachers,  selected  two  portions  of  sacred  writ  for  the  text  of  his 
first  sermon,  both  of  which  were  full  of  meaning,  and  as  inexhausti- 
ble in  streams  of  salvation,  as  the  fountain  of  eternal  and  almighty 
love.  Blessed  Jesus !  may  all  the  ministers  of  thy  Gospel,  imitate 
thee.  O !  may  they  never  act  the  part  of  foolish  triflers,  by  seeking 
to  amuse  their  hearers  with  novel,  speculative,  or  curious  discour- 
ses, while  Man's  Ruin,  God's  Mercy,  and  Redeeming  Love,  can  never 
be  fully  told. 

Jesus  was  anointed  with  the  holy  spirit,  and  power  to  announce 
glad  tidings  to  the  spiritually  poor;  and  to  induct  them  into  tba  glo- 
rious inheritance.  Truly  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was  on  him  ;  and  he 
muslik  be  an  intruder  on  the  Gospel  ministry,  who  cannot  adopt 
the  language  of  his  Master.  No  wonder  his  congregation  were 
astonished  at  him,  whilst  he  proclaimed,  as  the  commissioned  ambas- 
sador of  Heaven,  light  fur  those  in  darkness,  liberty  for  the  cap- 
tives, health  for  the  sick,  life  for  the  dead,  salvation  for  the  wretch- 
ed, and  immortality  for  the  whole  oftspring  of  Adam.  Such  a  ser- 
mon, from  such  a  preacher,  was  adapted  to  astonish  earth  and  heaven, 
as  much  as  the  members  of  the  Synagogue  at  Nazareth. 

t  The  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  according  to  the  ancient 
Fathers  of  the  Christian  Church,  was  the  year  of  Christ's  public 
ministry,  being  the  year  thirty-one  of  the  Vulgar  .(Era.  This  ac- 
cepted year,  began  at  the  time  of  this  public  Sermon  at  Nazareth, 
which,  we  have  shown,  was  about  the  beginning  of  January,  A.  D. 
31:  and  terminated  about  the  feast  of  Deriication,  John  x.  22 :  at 
'vhich  time^  his   ministry  became  so  oflensive  to  the  Jews,  as  to 


JESUS    OPENS    HIS    COMBIISSION.  GSf 

And  having  rolled  the  volume,  and  given  it  to  the 
officer,  he  sat  down  ;*  and  the  eyes  of  all  that  were  in 
the  Synagogue  were  gazing  on  him.  Then  began  he 
to  say  to  them  :  To-day,  has  this  scripture  been  ful- 
filled in  your  ears.  And  all  approving  and  wondering 
at  the  gracious  words  which  proceeded  from  his 
mouth,  said :  Is  not  this  Joseph's  son  ? 

From  that  time,  Jesus  began  to  preachf  the  Gospel 


induce  them  to  resolve  on  his  destruction,  and  necessitate  him  to 
retire  into  Perea,  for  safety  iu  obscurit}',  John  x.  39,  40.  Alas  ! 
that  such  excellent  preaching,  should  have  been  of  so  short  dura- 
tion: but  then,  as  now,  the  most  worthy  is  the  most  despised. 

Lowth  and  others  say,  the  year  of  Jubilee,  was  a  type  and  figure  of 
our  Lord's  ministry.  It  was  the  great  year  of  release  from  debts, 
obligations,  and  bondage,  and  of  recovery  of  lands,  possessions,  and 
liberty;  and  was  gloriously  realized,  in  the  year  of  Christ's  public 
preaching,  in  which  the  poor  were  fed,  the  sick  healed,  the  bond- 
men released,  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  made  to  sing,  and  the  lame  to 
leap  for  joy.  But  they  greatly  obscure  and  destroy  the  fitness  of  the 
type  and  antitype,  who  extend  our  Lord's  ministry  to  the  duration 
of  three  or  four  years ;  whereas,  it  is  entirely  out  of  the  power  of 
any,  to  produce  higher  proof  of  such  a  duration,  than  plausible  con- 
jecture. Only  15  months  elapsed  from  the  time  of  Christ  s  first 
public  sermon  at  Nazareth,  till  the  time  of  his  public  crucifixion, 
without  the  gates  of  Jerusalem. 

*  The  Jewish  teachers,  in  reverence  of  the  holy  scriptures,  stand 
when  they  read,  and  sit  when  they  preach,  or  deliver  practical 
instruction  :  Thus,  our  Lord  sat  down  and  taught  the  people  out  of 
the  Ship;  so  also,  he  sat  down  before  he  delivered  his  divine  ser- 
mon on  the  mount.  When,  therefore,  our  Master  stood  up,  it  was 
the  indication  of  his  desire  to  read  ;  and  when  he  sat  down,  the  ej'es 
of  the  congregation  were  attentively  fixed  on  him,  expecting  his 
illustration,  or  sermon. 

t  The  preaching  of  Jesus,  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  that  of 
the  Baptist,  and  the  Apostles  followed  closely,  the  example  of  their 
Master,  Matt.  iii.  2,  Mark  i.  15,  and  vi.  12,  Luke  x.  9.  Hence,  the 
preaching  of  Repentance  and  Faith,  has  ever  been  correctly  repu- 
ted the  great  business  of  the  Gospel  ministry. — Men  are  alienated 
from  God, by  wicked  works.  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  to  him: 
and  without  a  change  is  efiecied,  the  kingdom  cannot  enter  into  man's 
soul ;  neither  can  he  see  it,  because  it  is  spiritually  discerned. — The 
reign  of  the  highest  heaven;  or,  in  other  words,  Ahni;4lity  grace^ 
must  operate  a  spiritual  change, in  tlic  mind  and  affections;  and  ulti- 
niaiely,  regenerate  the  whole  structure  of  man,  before  a  mectness  j? 


1)4  JESUS    OPENS  HIS  COMMISSION. 

of  God,  saying :  The  time  is  accomplishecl,  and  tlie 
reign  of  the  highest  heaven  draws  nigh:  Change 
3^oiir  minds,  and  ]ieheve  the  Gospel.  And  his  fame 
spread  abroad,  through  all  the  surrounding  country ; 
and  he  taught  in  their  s^^nagogues,*  with  universal 
applause. 

effected  for  admission  into  the  Upper  Sanctuary,  the  abode  of  Spirits 
made  perfect. 

*  Synagogues  are  5o  frequently  mentioned,  in  the  New  Testament, 
that  a  description  of  them  becomes  necessary.  The  Greek  word 
avvayuyri,iis  well  as  the  Hebrew  to  whicli  it  answers,  signifies  in  gen- 
eral, any  assembh^,  holi/  or  prof a?ic  ;  bnt,  most  commonly  it  denotes 
a  place  of  worship.  The  Christians  themselves,  often  gave  the 
name  Si/nagogue  to  their  asseniblics  and  places  of  worship,  as  ap- 
pears from  James  ii.  2,  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius,  and  the  writings  of 
Clemens  of  Alexandria.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine,  when  the 
use  of  Synagogues  began  among  the  Jews:  They  are  first  men- 
tioned, Ps.  Ixxiv.  8,  and  allusions  seem  to  be  made  to  them  in 
the. Sixth  Chapter  of  Judith;  but,  probably,  they  did  not  exist  before 
the  time  of  the  Babylonian  captivity. — It  is,  however,  certain  they 
have  been  long  in  use,  since  James  says,  Acts  xv.  21 ;  Moses  of  old 
time  has  in  every  city  them  that  preach  him,  being  read  in  the  Syna- 
gogiies  every  Sabbath. 

The  chief  things  belonging  to  a  Synagogue,  were,  1.  The  Ark,  in 
which  was  deposited  the  book  of  the  Law;  which  was  placed  in  that 
part  of  the  Synagogue  which  looked  towards  liie  holy  land,  the 
temple,  or  holy  of  holies.  2.  A  pulpit,in  which  he  stood,  who  read 
or  expounded  the  Law.  3.  Common  seats  or  pews  for  the  people, 
and  chief  seats  for  the  Elders,  who  sat  with  their  back  towards  the 
Ark,  and  their  faces  to  the  Congregation.  The  women  sat  alone,  in 
a  gallery.  4.  Lamps  fixed  to  the  walls,  or,  suspended  from  the  ceil- 
ings for  ornament,  and  to  give  light  at  the  evening  service.  5.  Rooms 
or,  apartments  for  the  utensils  of  the  Synagogue,  such  as  trumpets 
and  alms  chests. 

The  Officers  of  the  Synagogue,  were,  1.  A  Council  of  grave  per- 
sons, well  versed  in  the  Law,  over  whom  one  presided,  called  rider 
of  the  Synagogue.  But,  as  all  these  elders  were  engaged  in  the  gov- 
ernmentof  the  Synagogue,  they  are  sometimes  called  rulers,  chiefs, 
bishops,  fathers.  They  possessed  authority  to  leach  and  rule  the 
people;  and  even  to  punish  by  censures,  excommunications,  fines, 
and  scourgings. — They  taught  the  people  themselves,  or,  appointed 
others  to  do  so  ;  hence,  the  apostles  obtained  leave  of  the  rulers,  to 
address  the  people.  Acts  xiii.  15.  The  manner  of  teaching  was  by 
dispute,  conference,  or  a  continued  discourse  like  a  Sermon.  Teach- 
in*^  in  any  of  these  ways, they  called,  Dabasch,  searching;  the  dis- 
course, Darschan,  a  search^  and  the  preacher,  Derasch,  a  searcher. 


SECTION  FOURTEENTH. 

Parable  of  the  Sower.* 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  as  Jesus  was  walking  by 
the  ISea  of  Galilee,  and  the  multitude  was  pressing 
on  him  to  hear  the  doctrine  of  God,  he  saw  two  ves- 
sels  on  the  edge  of  the  Lake,  but  the  fishermem  hav- 
ing gone  out  of  them,  were  washing  nets.  Then 
Jesus  went  aboard  one  of  them  which  belonged  to 
Simon,  and  entreated  him  to  put  a  little  from  the 
land ;    and  sitting  down  in  the  vessel,  he  taught  the 


*  This  is  one  of  the  most  important,  interesting  and  beautiful  of 
our  Master's  discourses.  Nothing  in  the  whole  volume  of  divine 
revelation,  conveys  to  the  mind,  more  certain  and  awful  truths,  than 
this  prophetic  description  of  the  reception,  influence,  and  ett'ects  of 
the  Gospel  among  men.  God  and  divine  providence  are  justified, 
in  the  sower  and  seed.  The  sower  is  the  Son  of  Man,  Jesus  from 
the  highest  heaven,  clothed  with  divine  authority,  and  full  of  grace, 
and  truth,  and  love  for  mankind.  The  seed  is  the  word  of  God. 
The  pure,  unadulterated,  eternal  truth  which  Jehovah  sent  down,  as 
living  bread  from  heaven,  that  it  might  give  life  to  the  world.  The 
sower,  without  partiality,  scatters  the  good  seed  on  all  the  ground, 
whether  the  soil  be  stony,  thorny,  shallow,  or  good.  God  is  good  to 
all,  and  wills  that  all  may  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  and 
be  saved.  But  alasl  what  follows?  Here  and  there  are  found  par- 
cels of  good  land,  which  watered  by  the  dews  and  gentle  rains  of 
heaven,  become  productive,  and  yield  fruit  that  shall  endure  for- 
ever. But  there  a  portion  of  stony  ground  that  can  aftbrd  no  mois- 
ture or  suitable  soil,  for  the  seed  to  take  root  or  grow.  There 
another  piece  of  ground,  more  disposed  to  produce  weeds  and  bram- 
bles than  a  useful  and  expected  harvest.  High  way-hearers  obtain 
the  seed  easily,  and  part  with  it  freely.  Poverty  and  care  are  thorns 
to  the  poor,  and  fashion  and  fame  to  the  rich.  Great  God  I  how 
much  of  this  earth  is  cursed  on  account  of  barrenness,  and  hence  for- 
saken and  abandoned  to  be  burnt.  Let  hearers  of  the  Gospel  reflect 
on  these  things.  By  a  careful  hearing,  and  affectionate  reception  of 
God's  word,  with  ardent  prayer,  that  it  may  yield  the  peaceful 
fruits  of  righteousness,  God  may  send  his  refreshing  showers  and 
cause  them  to  appear  as  a  field  which  the  Lord  has  blessed. 

There  is  one  thing  worthy  of  all  consideration  :  The  fowls  of  hea- 
ven devour  much  of  the  seed.  These  are  Satan  and  his  allies,  evi; 
spirits,  wicked  men,  unbelievers,  especially  deists,  and,  I  migl.i 
add.  sceptics,  and  indifferent  persons,  who  all  combine  to  takeawa-^ 

9 


66 


PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER. 


multitude^  who  remained  on  the  shore,  preaching  his 
doctrine  to  them  by  parable.*  Hearken  :  Behold  ! 
a  Sower  went  out  to  sow  his  seed;  and  as  he  sowed, 
some  fell  by  the  way  side,  and  was  trodden  under 
foot,  and  devoured  by  the  fowls  of  heaven.  Other 
seed  fell  on  rocky  places,  where  it  had  not  much 
mould,,  and  sprang  up  immediately ;  because  it  had 
no  depth  of  earth.  But  when  the  Sun  arose,  it  was 
scorched ;  and  having  no  root  and  lacking  moisture, 
it  withered  away.  Some  fell  among  thorns,  but  the 
thorns  grew  up  with  it,  and  choked  it.     And  other 


the  seed  and  render  the  hearers  of  God's  word  barren  and  unfruit- 
ful. From  all  such  beings,  be  it  our  ardent  and  continual  prayer: 
Good  Lord  deliver  us ! 

*The  word  T«f<«^eA>)  parable,  properly  means  an  allegorical 
similitude  or  comparison,  serving,  by  a  figurative  or  poetical  repre- 
sentation, to  render  the  description  more  animated,  interesting,  and 
curious.  Personification  seems  essential  to  parable,  which  should 
always  involve  the  notion  of  animated  and  rational  existence.  It 
differs  from  Example,  by  partaking  of  similitude,  and  from  Alle- 
gory, by  being  true  and  applicable,  only  in  the  general  scope,  but 
vague  and  inexplicable,  in  the  particulars.  It  is  essential  to  Alle- 
gory, that  all  its  principal  terms  should  bear  a  double  sense,  and  be 
true  and  suitable,  both  literally  and  figuratively  :  but  in  Parable,  we 
must  remember  the  advice  of  Maimonides  :  "  Fix  on  the  grand  ob- 
ject of  the  parable,  without  attempting  an  explanation  of  particu- 
lars." He  who  would  undertake  to  explain  what  is  implied  by  the 
ring,  the  shoes,  the  music,  and  the  dancing,  in  the  parable  of  the 
Prodigal,  would  manifest  more  clearly,  puerility  of  fancy,  than 
soundness  of  judgment. 

The  Greek  word,  vct^u^oXti  Parable  has  all  the  extent  of  signifi- 
cation in  the  New  Testament,  that  the  Hebrew  word  mashal,  has 
in  the  Old.  It  often  signifies  a  forcible  or  weighty  saying  or  moral 
jnaxim  without  including  the  notion  of  comparison.  See  page  117. 
The  English  translators  sometimes  render  it  Comparison,  Mark  4. 
SO.  Other  places  they  call  \i  proverb,  Luke  4.  23  ;  and  elsewhere, 
they  give  it  the  appellation  of  figure,  implying  similitude  or  repre- 
sentation. Heb.  9.  9.  Indeed  the  word,  parable,  implies  Compari- 
son, Similtude,  Allegory,  or  any  saying  that  is  ancient,  obscure, 
proverbial.  Or  powerful  and  weighty,  and  should  be  so  rendered  ac- 
cording to  circumstances,  or  as  the  context  requires. 

The  method  of  instructing  by  Parable,  Allegory,  Sinilitude,  Fa- 
ble, or  Apologue  was  vory  common,  and  liigldy  esteemed  bv  all  the 


PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER.  67 

s-eed  fell  on  good  ground,  and  growing  and  increasing, 
yielded  fruit,  some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an 
hundred  fold.  Having  said  these  things,  he  cried : 
Whoever  has  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 

And  when  he  was  in  private,  the  disciples  and 
those  who  were  present  asked  him :  What  may 
this  parable  mean  ?  Then  he  answered  :  Know  ye 
not  this  parable  ?  How  then  will  ye  understand  all 
parables  ?  Hear  ye,  therefore,  the  parable  of  the 
Sower.  The  Seed  is  the  word  of  God.  Those  in 
whom  the  word  is  sown  by  the  way-side,  are  they  who 


ancient,  especially  Asiatic,  nations.  No  scheme  of  Rhetoric,  says 
Lightfoot,  was  more  familiar  among  the  Jews,  than  that  of  parable. 
As  an  interesting  representation  of  truth,  parables  were  u\  threat 
use  by  the  prophets  and  ancient  teachers.  Wise  men  uttered  their 
sentiments  in  parables,  to  which  exercise  the  fool  was  unable  to 
attain,  Prov.  xxvi.  7.  In  parables,  Jotham  showed  the  Shechemites 
tiieir  folly  in  the  choice  of  Abimelech  ;  Nathan  conveyed  reproof  to 
David,  2  Sam.  xii.  1 — 4  ;  and  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  showed  the 
rejection  of  Israel  by  a  boiling  pot  and  basket  of  figs,  Jeremiah 
i.  13,  and  xxiv.  2,  3  ;  Ezekiel  xxiv.  3 — 5.  In  our  Saviour's  time, the 
method  of  instructing  by  parable,  was  very  common,  and  he  appears 
to  have  carried  it  to  the  highest  perfection  His  parables  of  the 
Sower,  Wheat,  Mustard-seed,  Hid  treasure,  Leaven,  Barren  fig-tree. 
Prodigal  Son,  Rich  man,  Vineyard,  Marriage  feast,  Talents,  and 
Samaritan,  are  unrivalled  in  beauty,  utility  and  excellence.  Hence, 
Commentators  are  greatly  mistaken,  who  either  imagine  or  teach,  that 
Christ  adopted  this  method,  to  prevent  the  Jews  from  understanding 
his  doctrine.  The  Evangelist  says,  Christ  spoke  to  them  in  para- 
bles, as  they  were  able  to  hear.  That  is,  he  was  as  plain  as  the  cir- 
cumstances would  admit.  But  that  this  parable  was  intelligible,  and 
intended  by  our  Lord  to  be  understood,  is  evident  from  the  gentle 
reproof  given  to  the  disciples,  when  they  asked  the  meaning  of  it: 
Kiioto  ye  nut  tins  parable?  How  then  will  ye  know  all  parables? 
In  the  location  of  this  section,  I  have  ventured  to  deviate  from  the 
path  of  all  preceding  Harmonizers  ;  and  liere  present  to  the  reader 
the  parable  of  the  Sower,  as  the  first  discourse  delivered  in  a  bark, 
by  the  shore  of  the  sea  of  Galilee,  near  Capernaum.  Two  Evan-, 
gelists  give  notice  of  this  discourse,  but  do  not  formally  relate  what 
Christ  said  at  that  time:  yet  we  cannot  think  that  a  sermon  deliver- 
ed to  so  great  a  multitude,  and  followed  by  so  remarkable  events,  as 
the  draught  of  fishes,  and  the  call  of  four  eminent  Apostles  (two  of 
whom  wore  ;;fterw;ird  engaged  in  transmitting  the  Gospel  to  future 
accs^i  would  liavG  been  suffered  to  fall  into  o'jliviou".     The  nature  of 


68  PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER. 

hear,  but  understand  not  the  word  of  the  reign,  then 
conies  the  deceiver  and  takes  away  the  word  out  of 
their  hearts,  lest  they  should  believe  and  be  saved. 
They  who  receive  the  seed  in  rocky  places  are  those 
who  on  hearing  the  word,  receive  it  joyfully ;  but 
having  no  root  in  them  endure  only  for  a  season  ;  and 
in  time  of  trial,  when  tribulation  or  persecution  ari- 
ses because  of  the  word,  they  instantly  take  offence 
and  fall  away.  They  who  receive  the  seed  among 
thorns,  are  those  who  hear  the  word,  but  the  anxious 
cares  of  this  life,  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  and 
inordinate  desires  of  other  things,  choke  the  word ; 
and  it  bears  no  fruit  to  perfection.  But  they  who 
receive  seed  on  good  ground,  are  they  who,  hearing 
and  understanding  the  word,  receive  it  in  an  honest 
and  good  heart;  and  holding  it  fast,  patiently  bear  fruit, 
some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an  hundred  fold. 

this  parable,  and  the  season  of  the  3'ear,  when  leaving  Nazareth, 
Jesus  pieaclied  the  second  discourse  of  his  ministry,  on  the  shore  of 
the  Lake,  perfectly  agree;  seeing  not  more  than  a  week  had  ehipsed 
from  the  time  he  opened  his  Commission,  on  his  arrival  in  Galilee 
from  Samaria.  Tlie  season  was  Seed-time,  and  the  discourse  was 
about  Sowing  The  parable  is  admirably  and  prophetically  descrip- 
tive of  the  reception  and  success  of  iiis  Gospel  in  the  world  ;  and 
ver)'  appropriate,  as  an  inaugural  sermon,  when  entering  on  his  own 
public  office,  he  was  that  day  about  solemnly  to  cfdl  into  the  labour 
of  the  sacred  ministry,  two  of  his  most  distinguished  Apostles, 

It  cannot  be  denied,  that  Matthew  and  Luke  have,  at  least  on 
some  occasions,  followed  tiie  ushhI  method  of  historians,  in  the  clas- 
sification of  subjects,  without  regard  to  the  order  of  time.  Thus 
Luke  narrates  the  imprisoimient  of  John  in  connexion  with  his  first 
public  preaching,  even  before  the  baptism  of  Clirist;  though  John 
describes  the  Baptist  and  Jesus  baptizing  near  Saleni,  some  months 
afterwards.  In  the  simie  manner  Matthew  collects  a  sumniarv  of 
our  Lord's  moral  discourses,  and  hastens,  without  regard  to  chronol- 
ogical order,  to  lay  them  beft)'  e  his  Jewish  reader,  as  if  they  had 
been  all  delivered  on  one  occasion:  though  several  parts  of  the  ser- 
mon on  the  mount,  are  related  by  Luke,  as  liie  sayings,  and  discour- 
ses of  Christ  on  different  occasions.  So  likewise,  in  the  thirteenth 
chapter,  IMatthew  collects  a  number  of  parables,  very  dissimilar  in 
their  nature  ;  and  which,  following  the  rule,  so  highly  approved 
by  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Whiston,  and  Newcome,  were  not  spoken  on 
the  same  occasion,  nor  at  the  same  season   of  the  year. 


SECTION  FIFTEENTH. 

Draught  of  Fishes,  and  Call  of  Peter. 

Now,  when  he  had  finished  his  discourse,  he  said 
to  Simon :  Launch  into  deep  water,  and  let  down 
your  nets  for  a  draught.  But  Simon  answered: 
Master,  we  have  toiled  all  night,  and  have  taken 
nothing ;  nevertheless,  at  thy  word,  I  will  let  down 
the  net :  and  having  done  so,  they  inclosed  such  a 
multitude  of  fish,  that  the  net  began  to  break.  Then 
they  made  signs  to  partners  in  the  other  vessel,  to 
come  to  their  assistance  :  and  they  came  and  filled 
both  the  vessels  until  they  were  beginning  to  sink. 
Now  Simon  Peter  beholding,  fell  at  the  knees  of  Je- 
sus, saying :  O  Sir,  depart  from  me,  for  I  am  a  sinful 


There  is  a  seeminjf  discordance  among  the  Evangelists,  in  their 
account  of  the  call  of  Simon  and  Andrew,  James  and  John  :  but  all 
can  be  reconciled  on  the  rule  proposed  by  Le  Clerc  : — "  He  who  re- 
lates many  things,  comprehends  the  few ;  while  he  who  relates  the 
few  only,  does  not  deny  the  many."  Matthew  and  Mark  say  : — Je- 
sus saw  Simon  and  Andrew  casting  a  net  into  the  sea,  for  they  were 
fishers.  This  is  not  contradicted  by  Luke,  who  says,  at  the  com- 
mand of  Christ,  they  let  down  the  net  for  a  draught.  Again,  both 
the  former  Evangelists  say,  that  it  was  a  little  after  Jesus  called  Pe- 
ter, when  he  saw  James  and  John  in  the  vessel  with  their  father, 
mending  iheir  nets,  and  called  them  to  follow  him  :  but  all  this  is 
included  in  the  narrative  of  Luke,  who  describes  James  and  John  as 
the  partners  of  Simon,  assisting  him  in  the  draught  of  fishes,  bring- 
ing their  vessels  to  land,  and  fors;ikiug  all  to  follow  Jesus.  Nor  is  it 
unnatural  to  suppose,  that  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  might  be  so  engaged 
with  the  concerns  of  their  fatiier,  when  about  to  leave  him,  as  to  re- 
quire a  second,  or  particular  invitation  to  follow  Christ,  and  re- 
nounce the  world  :  yet,  be  it  remembered,  immediately  on  receiving 
the  second  invitation,  they  leave  nets,  vessel,  servants,  father,  and 
all,  to  follow  Christ.  Oh  I  how  often  has  Christ  repeated  his  calls 
to  thousands,  who  have  never,  like  these  sincere  fishermen,  fully  de- 
voted themselves  to  his  service. 

This  draught  of  fishes  is  exceediuGfly  like  that  mentioned  by  John, 
but  it  is  very  probable,  that  the  miracle  was  repeated,  as  a  mean  to 
produce  faith  and  confidence  in  the  disciples,  at  two  special  seasons: 
the  first,  when  he  called  them  to  forsake  their  usual  employment,  and 
become  his  followers  ;  the  second,  when  he  was  about  to  give  tiie 
final   and  grand  commission  to  preach  the  Oospel  to  the  whole  hu- 


70         DRAUGHT  OF  FISHES,  AND  CALL  OF  PETER. 

man.  For  amazement,  at  the  draught  of  fishes  which 
they  had  taken,  seized  him,  and  also  James  and  John 
the  sons  of  Zebedee,  who  were  Simon's  partners ; 
and,  Hkewise,  all  that  were  present.  But  Jesus  said 
to  them :  Be  not  afraid  ;  follow  me,  and  henceforth  I 
will  cause  you  to  become  fishers  of  men.  And 
when  they  had  brought  their  vessels  to  land,  they 
straightway  forsook  all,  and  followed  him. 


man  rare.  OCien  the  faithful  minister  of  the  Gospel  feels  discouraged 
when,  like  Peter,  he  toils  long  and  takes  nothing  ;  but  perseverance, 
in  obedience  to  the  commission  of  Jesus,  will  assuredly  be  crowned 
with  success.  May  none  be  afraid  :  the  kingdom  is  the  Lord's,  and 
he  gives  to  whomsoever  he  will.  There  never  will  be  an  instance, 
where  God  will  permit  honest,  pious  efforts  to  prove  unavailing,  and 
totally  fail.  But  ever  be  it  remembered  :  the  minister,  who  would 
be  useful,  must  feel  his  own  unvvorthiness,  and  entire  dependence  on 
the  co-operation  of  God;  and  be,  at  all  times,  ready  to  imitate  these 
disciples,  and  forsake  all  at  the  call  of  Jesus.  Without  such  dispo 
sitiou,  even  the  minister  of  religion  is  contemptible. 


SECTION  SIXTEENTH. 

Cure  of  a  Demoniac  at  Capernaum. 

And  they  went  into  Capernaum,  and  immediately, 
on  the  Sabbath,  he  taught  in  the  synagogue.  And 
they  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine  ;  for  he  taught 
them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as  the  Scribes. 
Now,  in  the  synagogue,  there  was  a  man  possess- 


The  doctrine  of  demoniacal  possessions,  has  been  a  source  of 
much  discussion,  since  the  time  of  the  learned  Joseph  Mede,  who 
laboured  to  prove,  that  the  demoniacs  were  not  supernaturally  tor- 
mented, but  only  insane.  His  view  of  the  subject  has  been  ably 
maintained  by  Heinsius,  Syke,  Mead,  Farmer,  Lardner,  Kuinoel. 
Kosenmullcr,  and  P)iestley  :  and,  in  general,  by  all  those  writers  of 
every  sect,  who  would  believe  that  origin  of  the  Scriptures,  which 
appears  to  them  rational.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  Jews,  and  of  all 
the  eastern  nations,  that  insanity  was  produced  by  the  agency  ol 
•vil  spirits,  whom  they  called  de;nons.  They  were  supposed  to  en- 
ter the  bodies  of  men,  and  to  disorder  their  understundiiigs  5  and. 


CURE    OF    A    DEMONIAC    AT    CAPEUNAUM.  71 

ed  of  an  impure  demon  ;  and  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice:  Ah!  Jesus  Nazarene,  what  have  we  to  do 
with  thee?  Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us?  I  know 
thee  who  thou  art;  the  Holy  One  of  Grod.  And  Je- 
sus rebuked  him,  saying:  Hold  thy  peace,  and  come 
out   of  him.     And   the   demon,    having   thrown    him 

consequently,  no  cure  was  expected  till  the  demon  was  cast  out. — 
Hence  the  ancients  had  recourse  to  a  variety  of  exorcisms,  or 
charms  to  compel  those  demons  to  depart.  Pythagoras,  Thales, 
Plato,  and  the  Stoics,  taught,  that  the  world  was  full  of  demons, 
whom  Plato  calls  visible  and  generated  gods,  but  all  antiquity  con- 
sidered them  the  souls,  or  ghosts  of  dead  men.  These  spirits  were 
believed  to  have  power  to  produce,  or  greatly  augment,  the  disorders 
of  man,  such  as  lunacy,  epilepsy,  and  insanity.  This  appears  from 
the  history  of  Job  and  Saul :  the  practice  of  exorcism  among  the 
Jews,  Matt.  xii.  27;  Acts  xvi.  16;  and  the  account  given  of  Saul's 
distemper  by  Josephus,  Antiq.  vi.   1. 

The  word  demon,  is  derived  from  Jot/iw,  which  signifies  to  divide, 
because  the  ancients  believed  the  demons  to  be  intermediate  beings 
between  God  and  men,  who  performed  the  office  of  intercessors  and 
executors  of  the  divine  purposes,  and  therefore  distributed  to  man- 
hind  their  due  proportion  of  pain  or  pleasure.  Hence  that  famous 
passage  in  the  sixth  book  of  Virgil : 

All  have  their  manes,  and  their  manes  bear,  &c. 

Augustine  and  others  supposed,  that  the  term  demon  always  im- 
plies an  evil  spirit  or  a  devil,  wherever  it  is  used  by  the  sacred  wri- 
ters ;  and  this  opinion  seems  generally  if  not  universally  supported 
by  the  scope  of  the  passage  where  the  word  is  used.  The  following 
distinction  should  nevertheless  be  carefully  observed  :  The  heathen 
writers  considered  demon  as  a  general  term,  like  the  word  angel, 
applicable  to  spirits  in  general,  but  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, use  demon,  in  the  sense  of  devil  or  evil  spirit,  except  where 
they  refer  to  heathen  usages  or  opinions.  There  is  no  ditterence  of 
opinion  among  the  ancients  about  the  nature  of  the  beings  called 
demons.  All  are  united  in  the  belief,  that  they  were  spirits  of  dead 
men,  pursuing  the  bent  of  their  inclinations,  in  doing  good  or  evil 
among  the  living.  Ilesiod  describes  that  happy  race  of  men,  who 
lived  in  the  first  or  golden  age  of  the  world,  as  beings  promoted  af- 
ter death,  to  the  rank  of  demons  ;  and  appointed  by  the  will  of  the 
Deity,  to  be  guardians  of  men,  and  observers  of  their  good  or  evil 
actions.  Plato  agrees  with  Hesiod,  and  thinks  that  he,  and  many 
of  the  poets,  are  praiseworthy  for  affirming,  that  when  good  men 
die,  they  obtain  great  honour  and  become  demons.  Eusebius  and 
Theodoret  cite  these  passages  from  Hesiod  and  Plato,  in  their  ar- 
gument foi  similar  honour  and  dignity  being  bestowed  on  saints  and 
martyrs:  and  thus  Paul  was  understood  by  the" people  at  Athens, 
when  he  preached  Jesus  and  the  Resurrection.  Acts  17.   18.     Kut 


7S  CURE    OF   A    DEMONIAC    AT    CAPERNAtTM. 

down  in  the  midst,  convulsed  him,  and  crying  aloud, 
came  out  of  him,  and  did  hira  no  hurt.  Then  were 
they  all  amazed,  and  said  to  each  other  :  What  new 
doctrine  is  this  ?  for  with  authority  he  commands 
even  the  impure  spirits,  and  they  obey  him.  And  his 
feme  spread  through  the  whole  country  of  Gralilee. 

Josephus  says,  "  Evil  demons  are  no  other,  than  the  spirits  of  the 
wicked,  who  enter  into  the  bodies  of  the  living,  and  kill  them, 
unless  they  obtain  help  against  them."  Now  since  the  whole  world 
believed  in  the  influence  of  the  dead,  over  the  living,  at  the  time  of 
Christ's  public  ministry,  what  shall  we  say  of  those  teachers  or  Com- 
mentators, who  suppose  that  Jesus  either  knew  nothing  of  the  mat- 
ter, or  passed  over  it,  as  a  popular  superstition  ?  We  cannot  avoid 
saying,  that  such  an  opinion,  either  subverts  the  whole  Gospel,  by 
representing  the  sayings  of  Christ  and  the  writings  of  his  disciples, 
as  a  medley  of  pagan,  vulgar,  and  Jewish  opinions,  intermixed  with 
the  Gospel,  witnout  any  mark  of  distinction ;  or  it  invalidates  the 
whole  testimony  of  Christ,  by  reason  of  his  incompetency  through 
lack  of  knowledge  or  fidelity.  The  doctrine  of  real  possession, 
must  therefore  be  true,  and  it  must  also  be  true,  that  the  souls  ot 
men  became  either  angels  or  devils  after  death.  Let  therefore  all 
opposition  cease ;  for  there  can  be  no  more  inconsistency  in  the  per- 
mission of  demons  to  tempt  or  even  injure  men,  than  in  suffering 
storms,  tires,  and  earthquakes  to  destroy  life,  or  devastate  a  country. 


SECTION  SEVENTEENTH. 

Cure  of  Simon  Peter's  Mother-in-law. 

And  when  they  came  out  of  the  synagogue,  Jesus, 
Simon  and  Andrew,  with  .Tames  and  John,  entered 
into  Peter's  house.  Now  the  mother  of  Simon's 
wife  lay  sick  of  a  great  fever,  and  they  besought  him 
on  her  behalf.  And  going  to  her,  he  took  her  by  the 
hand,  and  raising  her  up,  rebuked  the  fever,  and  im. 
mediately  it  left  her  :  then  she  arose  and  served  them. 

Now,  at  even,  when  the  sun  was  setting,  they 
brought  to  him  all  that  were  sick  of  any  disease,  and 
many  possessed  of  demons  ;  and,  laying  his  hands  on 
each  of  them,  he  healed  them  all.  \m\  the  whole 
city  was  assembled  at  the  door.     Demons  also  came 


CURE  OF  SIMON    PETER's  MOTHER-IN-LAW.         73 

out  of  many,  crying :  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God.  But 
rebuking,  he  suffered  them  not  to  speak,  for  they 
knew  him  to  be  the  Christ.  Thus  was  fulfilled,* 
what  was  said  by  Isaiah  the  prophet :  He  took  our  in^ 
firmities,  and  bear  our  diseases. f 

Now,  in  the  morning,  rising  before  day,  he  depart- 
ed into  a  solitary  place,  and  was  praying  there,  when 


*  Theologians  give  four  rules  for  the  application  of  the  phrase — 
It  might  be  fulfilled,  in  the  New  Testament.  1.  When  the  thing 
predicted  is  literally  accomplished.  2.  When  an  event  happens 
agreeably  to  the  spirit  of  the  prediction,  though  it  be  not  in  confor- 
rnity  to  the  letter.  3.  When  something  happens  of  a  similar  nature 
to  that  contained  in  the  Scripture,  to  which  the  reference  is  made. 
4.  When  something  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  is  more  fully 
accomplished  in  the  New. 

t  The  extraordinary  cures  performed  by  Christ,  were  undoubtedly 
Biiraculous  ;  and  as  such  he  appealed  to  them.  Miracles  may  be  de- 
fined, events  contrary  to  experience  or  the  established  order  of  things. 
The  opposers  of  miracles,  or  unbelievers,  are  fond  of  Hume's  rash 
declaration,  that  "  no  human  testimony  can  prove  a  miracle ;"  and 
talk  loudly  of  Nature  and  its  laws.  But  Cowper  has  well  said  • 
Nature  is  but  a  name  for  an  effect,  whose  cause  is  God.  The  uni- 
form course  of  circumstances,  in  animal  and  vegetable  life,  which  we 
daily  observe,  does  not  proceed  from  an  innate  principle  of  lite  and 
motion  in  the  inert  masses  of  which  the  visible  universe  is  composed  ; 
but  from  the  immediate  agency  of  that  Omnipotence,  which  first 
gave  them  existence,  and  appointed  the  laws  by  which  they  are  go- 
verned. The  various  results  of  the  will  of  Omnipotence,  may  be  cal- 
led constant,  but  unobserved  miracles:  while  the  deviations  from 
these  uniform  results,  are  the  unusual,  and,  therefore,  the  more  re- 
garded miracles.  The  credibility  of  both  classes  of  njiracles,  de- 
pends on  the  testimony  of  the  senses  of  those  who  observe  theiji. 
If  the  miracles,  daily  observed,  were  from  this  moment  to  cease,  and 
another  uniform  course  of  events  were  to  demonstrate,  in  a  different 
manner,  the  power  of  God,  then  the  ex[)erience  of  one  age  would  be 
contary  to  that  which  preceded  :  yet,  the  experieuce  of  the  latter 
age  would  not  falsify  the  testimony  of  the  former.  Hence  they  act 
very  irrationally,  who  disbelieve  the  miracles  of  Christ ;  since  they 
are  transmitted  to  us  by  the  united  and  concurrent  testimony  of  that 
age  ;  and  sustained  by  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  credible  wit- 
nesses. The  Deist,  therefore,  stands  as  self-confuted,  as  the  sceptic 
who  denies  the  existence  of  a  material  world. 

The  Evangelist  here  tells  us,  in  what  sense  Jesus  hire  our  sins; 
iiot  by  sutTering  the  punishment  of  sins,  but  by  delivering  us  from 
them  and  their  consequences.     This  is  not  to  be  expected,  hewever. 


74  CURE  OF  SIMON  PETER'S  MOTHER-IX-LAW* 

Siaion,  a»id  his  companions,  going  in  search  of  him, 
iba.id  hiiri,  and  said :  All  are  seeking  thee.  Indeed^ 
the  people  earnestly  sought  him,  and  coming  to  him, 
urged  liim  not  to  dep  rt  from  them.  But  he  said  to 
them :  1  must  preach  the  reign  of  heaven  to  other 
cities  also,  because  for  this  I  was  sent. 

And  Jesus  went  through  all  Galilee,  continually 
preaching,  in  their  synagogues,  and  proclaiming  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,   casting  out  demons,    and 

whilst  we  live  in  the  lave  and  practice  of  sin.  But  if  we  repent,  he 
is  faithful  wh»  has-  promised,  and  he  will  not  deny  himself. 

The  connexion  between  sin  and  disease,  is  very  fully  taught,  in 
the  Scriptures.  The  Jews  were  persuaded,  that  diseases,  especially 
such  as  were  grievous,  were  sent  as  a  punishment  for  some  sin,  John 
ix.  3.  Nor  was  this  opinion  dissonant  to  the  literal  interpretation  of 
their  law.  Indeed,  the  Scriptures  plainly  teach  us,  that  human  cala- 
mities are  often  no  more  than  the  just  chastisement  of  men's  iniqui- 
ties, Deut.  xxviii.  15 — 6S;  1  Cor.  xi.  30  j  John  v.  14  ;  James  v.  15  ; 
1  John  V.  l6.  This  is  the  reason  why  Jesus  said  to  the  paralytic:. 
Thy  sins  be  forgiven.  Tiiis  is  also  the  reason  why  Mark  calls  that 
forgiving  sin,  which  Matthew  had  denominated,  healing  disease. 
This  view  of  the  subject  also  reconciles  the  discordance,  which 
many  have  supposed  to  subsist  between  this  quotation  of  the  Evange- 
list, and  the  original  Hebrew,  in  Isaiah  liii.  4.  Indeed,  even  the 
happiness  of  the  celestial  regions,  is  predicated  on  the  forgiveness  of 
sin,  Isaiah  xxxiii.  24  ;  Rev.  xxi.  24. 

In  the  early  attempts  to  translate  the  Bible,  the  Septnagint  and 
Vulgate  were  almost  the  only  guides  ;  and,  as  Peter  and  the  Seventy 
had  represented  Christ,  as  bearing:  sins,  according  to  the  Hebrew  of 
the  prophet,  it  was  supposed  that  Matthew  had  made  an  accommoda- 
tion of  Isaiah's  language,  which  nricfht  prove  injurious  to  the  doctrine 
of  vicarious  sufferings.  Consequently,  a  variety  of  attempts  were 
made  to  reconcile  the  discrepancy  between  the  Prophet  and  Evange- 
list. Among  these,  the  opinion  of  Beausobre  deserves  notice : — • 
"  The  passage  in  Isaiah  liii.  4,  relates  properly  to  the  sins  of  men. 
whereof  diseases  are  the  emblems  and  consequences:  and  iMattnew 
applies  the  passage  to  our  Saviour's  curing  diseases,  after  the  man!)er 
of  the  Jewish  Doctors,  who  were  wont  to  prove,  from  the  same  text, 
two  things  which  might  have  a  resemblance  or  connexion  o.ie  with 
the  other." 

Now,  it  would  seem  much  more  pious  and  suitable  for  commenta- 
tors, to  yield  an  opinion,  which  will  not  abide  the  test  of  Scripture, 
than  to  compel  the  Prophets  or  Evangelists  to  bear  testimony  to  n 
doctrine  contrary  to  the  plain  letter  of  the  text.  Matthew,  a  JeW;, 
whose  language  was  Hebrew,  and  who  wrote  in  Hebrew,  had  cer- 


CURE    OF    SIMON    PETER's    MOTHER-IN-LAW.        75 

healing  all  kinds  of  diseases  among  the  people.  And 
his  fame  went  forth  into  all  Syria :  and  they  broue;ht 
to  him  all  that  were  diseased,  tormented,  or  afflicted 
with  any  disorder,  even  demoniacs,  lunatics,  and-  para- 
lytics, and  he  cured  them  all.  And  great  multitudes 
followed  him  from  Gralilee,  Decapolis,  Jerusalem,  Ju- 
dea,  and  Ferea. 

tainly  more  acquaintance  with  the  language  of  Isaiah,  than  any  mo- 
dern critic :  and  we  fear  not  to  affirm,  that  the  Greek  of  Matthew  is 
a  perfect  and  exact  translation  of  Isaiah's  Hebrew,  and  that  both  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  are  faithfully  rendered  in  the  words  of  the  pre- 
sent translation.  The  Apostle  informs  the  Hebrews  that  Jesus  took 
share  of  our  infirmities,  Heb.  4.  15.  Nor  is  it  denied  that  Jesus  is 
described  as  the  lamb  of  God  that  bears  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
All  that  is  contended  for  in  this  place  is  that  the  doctrine  of  imputed 
guilt  and  imputed  righteousness  has  no  support  from  this,  nor  any 
other  passage  of  holy  writ. 

The  doctrine  of  atonement  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
salvation  of  man  and  essential  to  the  Christian  system.  But  if  the 
holy  scriptures  are  admitted  to  be  the  guide,  all  things  are  of  God 
who  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  himself.  As  God  so 
loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only  begotten  Son,  and  spare  him  not 
but  deliver  him  for  us  all,  it  is  manifest  that  Jehovah  never  had  any 
unfriendly  feeling  toward  man.  What  God  does  for  men  on  Christ's 
account,  is  done  in  honour  and  reward  of  Christ's  mediatorial  suffer- 
ings and  obedience,  not  on  account  of  guilt  borne  or  expiated  by 
Jesus.  All  that  is  said  by  divines  about  the  Father  forsaking  Jesus 
in  his  sufferings  and  pouring  out  his  wrath  upon  him  as  our  substitute, 
savours  rather  of  blasphemy  than  christian  piety.  In  the  redemption 
of  the  world,  the  Son  of  God  has  well  said,  I  and  my  Father  are  one. 
My  Father  works  hitherto  and  I  work.  The  object  and  end  of  both 
are  the  same  :  the  purification  and  salvation  of  all  that  are  fit  subjects 
of  such  inestimable  blessings. 

The  Saviour  endured  much  suffering  on  account  of  mankind,  and 
as  far  as  men  have  their  sufferings  mitigated  or  obviated  through*the 
services  of  Jesus,  he  may  be  truly  said  to  have  suffered  in  their 
stead :  but  Christ  takes  away  sin,  by  turning  sinners  from  their  ini- 
quity through  the  ministry  of  his  Gospel  and  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit,  Acts  3.  26;  and  26.  18;  or  by  extending  the  exercise  of 
mercy  to  the  penitent  in  a  free  pardon,  which  on  account  of  his  me- 
diatorial services,  he  has  authority  to  bestow  on  all  that  come  to  God 
by  him.  Acts  5.  31  ;  and  13.  38,  39;  Rom.  3.  25,  26.  In  this 
manner  the  Redeemer  has  borne  away  much  of  the  sin  of  the  world 
already,  and  he  will  finally  deliver  the  world  from  its  influence,  by 
gathering  all  that  obey  him,  to  whom  he  becomes  the  author  of  salva- 

10* 


SECTION  EIGHTEENTH. 

Parable  of  thf  Wheat  and  Darnel. 

Now,  when  great  multitudes  were  gathered  to- 
gether to  him  out  of  every  city,  he  began  again  to 
teach  by  the  sea-side.  And  having  gone  aboard  a 
vessel,  he  said  to  the  people  on  the  shore  :  Consider 
what,  and  how  ye  hear.  Then  he  put  forth  another 
parable  to  them,  saying : 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  may  be  compared  to  a 
man  sowing  good  seed  in  his  field  ;  but  whilst  men 
slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  darnel  among  the 
wheat,  and  went  away.  Notwithstanding,  when  the 
blade  sprang  up,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  then  appear- 
ed also  the  darnel.     So  the  servants  of  the  house- 

tion,  Heb.  5.  9  ;  into  the  celestial  regions  where  nothing  impure 
shall  ever  enter ;  and  then  obliterating  in  due  time,  the  names, 
persons,  and  memories  of  all  his  irreconcilable  enemies.  Thus  shall 
the  triumphs  of  Immanuel  be  completed. 

*  I  have  followed  Wesley  and  Campbell  in  the  use  of  the  term 
darnel,  though  it  is  very  probable  that  Clarke  has  come  nearest  to 
the  truth,  in  calling  zizania,  degenerate  wheat.  The  word  tares,  m 
the  common  version,  is  misapplied  and  does  not  suit  the  context  or 
original.  The  darnel,  called  by  Virgil,  infelix  lolium,  not  only 
grows  among  wheat,  but  also  resembles  it  j  and,  when  mixed  in 
bread,  occasions  dimness  of  sight,  sickness  and  giddiness  in  them 
that  eat  it ;  and  the  straw  has  the  same  effect  on  cattle.  All  this  is 
truly  descriptive  of  the  spurious  mixtures  which  have  been  imposed 
on  the  world,  as  the  doctrine  of  Christ ;  the  deleterious  effects  of 
which  have  been  long  experienced  among  men ;  but  by  reason  of 
the  dimness  of  sight,  and  the  vertigo  of  the  head,  the  unhappy  victims 
perceive  not  the  fraud  by  which  they  have  suffered  such  mental 
debility. 

The  original  word,  zizania,  is  neither  pure  Greek  nor  Latin.  It 
is,  however,  a  well  chosen  term  to  represent  the  idea  of  the  writer, 
being  a  corrupt  word  to  represent  an  equally  corrupt  doctrine. — 
Chrysostom  speaks  of  zizania,  as  well  known  in  his  time,  and  simi- 
lar in  appearance  to  wheat :  and  Lightfoot  adduces  a  quotation  from 
the  Talmud  to  the  same  effect.  Indeed,  it  is  evident  from  the  para- 
ble, that  its  likeness  to  wheat  must  have  been  considerable,  seeing 
the  distinction  could  not  be  made,  until  the  ear  was  formed,  and  the 
grain  made  its  appearance.  Clarke  alleges  a  quotation  from  the 
Mishna  in  favour  of  the  word  being  translated  degenerated  wheat, 


PARABLE  OF  THE  WHEAT  AND  DARNEL.     77 

holder  came,  and  said  to  him  :  Sir,  didst  thou  not 
sow  good  seed  in  thy  field?  Whence  then  does  it 
produce  darnel  ?  And  he  answered  :  An  envious 
man  has  done  this.  Then  said  the  servants  :  Wilt 
thou,  therefore,  that  we  go  and  gather  it?  But  he 
said  :  No ;  lest,  while  ye  collect  the  darnel,  ye  root 
up  also  the  wheat.  Let  both  grow  together  *  till  the 
harvest ;  and,  in  harvest-time,  1  will  command  the 
reapers  to  gather  first  the  darnel,  and  bind  it  in  bun- 
dles, to  be  burnt  ;*  but  to  gatlier  the  wheat  into  my 
granary. 

and  supposes  it  to  be  derived  from  the  Chaldee  term,  zunin,  signify- 
ing a  mixture.  If  this  be  not  the  fact,  it  is  as  near  to  it,  as  any  thing 
hitherto  addueed  :  and  if  the  subject  of  the  parable  be  doctrine,  then 
the  mixture  is  the  corrupt  system  which  men  have  sowed  in  the  reli- 
gious world,  under  the  name  of  the  Christian  Religion, 

*  I  could  readily  concede  to  the  opinion  that  some  writers  have 
adopted  concerning  this  parable  and  its  application  to  doctrines,  as 
I  have  just  noticed  in  this  note,  but  what  idea  can  we  form  of  doc- 
trines being  burnt  or  cast  into  a  lake  of  fire  there  to  weep  and  gnash 
their  teeth.  If  we  compare  this  parable  with  what  immediately  fol- 
lows concerning  fish  taken  in  a  drag-net,  we  see  a  propriety  in  the 
application  of  the  parable  to  men  and  not  doctrines.  In  the  outward 
form  and  letter  of  the  parable  it  may  apply  to  the  Jews,  in  the  general 
and  spiritual  meaning  it  is  descriptive  of  the  present  state  and  final 
destiny  of  all  men.  To  restrict  it  to  the  letter,  will  not  agree  with  se- 
veral important  particulars  in  this'parable.  If  we  say  the  unbelieving 
Jews  were  the  darnel  and  the  believing  the  wheat,  the  discription 
would  not  be  truly  applicable,  for  many  of  the  unbelieving  Jews  died 
before  the  visitation  of  the  national  sin  in  their  destruction  by  the 
Romans,  and  many  of  those  entitled  to  the  appellation  wheat,  suffer- 
ed atliiction  then,  as  at  every  other  period  of  the  world,  though  walk- 
ing in  the  ways  of  holiness  and  peace :  and  therefore  the  doctrine 
of  future  retribution  is  the  true  spirit  of  this  parable,  and  fairly  dedu- 
cible  from  it.  The  blended  state  of  things,  or  intermixture  of  righte- 
ous and  wicked,  believers  and  unbelievers,  often  prevents  or  retards 
the  impartial  administration  of  justice,  in  order  that  the  righteous 
may  not  suffer  in  common  with  the  wicked.  But  a  time  comes  when 
the  divine  conduct  will  be  vindicated  in  the  reward  of  faith  and  holi- 
ness, anddestructionof  unbelief  and  ungodliness,  in  the  eternal  sepa- 
ration of  the  pious  and  wicked,  when  all  that  know  and  obey  God  and 
Christ  shall  be  received  to  heaven  and  happiness,  and  the  vile,  the 
unbeliever,  and  impious  shall  have  their  portion  in  the  Lake  of  fire 
and  brimstone,  which  is  the  second,  and  will  be  eternal  death. 


78  PARABLE    OF    THE   WHEAT    AND    DARNEL. 

Again,  he  said  to  them :  So  is  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed  on  the  ground  ; 
and,  while  he  sleeps  hy  night,  and  rises  hy  day,  the 
seed  springs  up  and  grows,  he  knows  not  how.  For 
the  earth  yields  fruit  of  itself;  first  the  blade,  then 
the  ear,  and  afterward  the  full  grain  in  the  ear.  But 
when  the  grain  is  ripe,  he  sends  out  the  sickle  imme- 
diately, because  the  harvest  is  come. 

Again,  he  said  :  To  what  may  we  compare  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  or  by  what  similitude  shall  we  re- 
present it?  Then  he  put  forth  another  parable  to 
them,  saying  :  The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,  which  a  man  so  ed  in  his  field; 
though  it  be  the  least  of  all  seeds,  yet,  when  so  \n,  it 
grows,  and  becomes  the  greatest  of  herbs,  even  a 
tree  shooting  out  great  branches,  so  that  the  fowls  of 
heaven  come  and  lodge  in  its  branches,  beneath  its 
shade. 

From  what  we  have  already  intimated  concerning  the  double 
sense,  this  parable  seems  to  be  descriptive  of  the  circumstances  and 
fate  of  Christ's  auditors.  God  had  planted  Israel  wholly  a  right 
seed,  but  they  had  become  the  degenerate  plant  of  a  strange  vine  ; 
and  when  he  looked  that  it  should  bring  forth  grapes,  it  brought 
forth  wild  or  degenerate  grapes.  Therefore  brake  he  down  the 
fence,  and  suffered  it  to  be  trodden  under  foot,  so  that  being  neither 
pruned  nor  digged,  it  yields  only  briars  and  thorns.  See  and  com- 
pare Jer.  ii.  21  ;  Is.  v.  1 — 7  ;  and  Ez.  xvii.  1 — 10.  God  made 
man  upright,  but  he  sought  out  many  inventions,  Eccles.  vii.  29.  If 
therefore  men  retain  not  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy  One :  If  they 
allow  themselves  to  be  deceived,  so  as  to  yield  fruits  of  unrighteous- 
ness, they  may  rely  on  the  veracity  of  God,  that  they  shall  not  escape 
his  righteous  judgment.  They  may  also  expect  that  in  proportion 
to  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  degeneracy,  will  be  their  sufferings. 
Though  the  parable  was  thus  plain  and  comprehensible,  and  might 
have  been  easily  perceived  by  the  Jews,  as  applicable  to  them  in  its 
literal  and  primary  use,  yet  like  professors  of  religion,  in  various 
ages  and  places,  they  either  relied  too  presumptuously  on  the  divine 
favour,  or  were  too  incredulous  of  the  divine  ■warnings:  so  that 
though  expressly  told  of  their  approaching  danger,  they  continued 
to  manifest  spiritual  insensibility  Hence  according  to  the  predic- 
tion of  the  Prophet:  Hearing  they  did  not  understand  and  seeing 
they  did  not  perceive  Christ's  meaning,  and  therefore  were  not  con- 


PARABLE  OF  THE  WHEAT  AN»  DARNEL.  79 

In  many  such  parables,  spake  Jesus  to  the  nuihi- 
tude,  as  they  were  able  to  hear  ;  so  that  the  saying  of 
the  j)rophet  was  accomplished  :  I  will  open  my  mouth 
in  parables  ;  I  will  utter  things  hidden  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world. 

Then  dismissing  the  multitude,  he  went  into  the 
house ;  and  his  disciples  came  to  him,  saying :  Ex- 
plain to  us  the  parable  of  the  darnel  of  the  field. 
Then  he  answered :  The  sower  of  the  good  seed  is 
the  Son  of  man  ;  the  field  is  the  world  ;  the  good 
seed  are  the  sons  of  the  kingdom  ;  the  darnel  are  the 
sons  of  evil ;  the  inimical  sower  is  the  deceiver  ;  the 

verted  and  healed.  But  the  end  of  that  age  took  place  about  40 
years  after  this  parable  was  pronounced,  the  angels  or  messengers^ 
being  whosoever,  or  whatsoever  God  pleases  to  send  or  employ, 
were  the  Romans;  the  darnel,  or  degenerate  wheat,  were  the  per- 
verse and  rebellious  Jews ;  the  furnace  of  fire  was  the  burning  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  calamities  which  befel  the  Jews  at  that  time; 
because  God  said,  his  furnace  wr.s  in  Jerusalem,  and  thither  he 
would  gather  the  Jews,  and  melt  them,  Ez.  xxii.  17 — 22  :  and  the 
wheat,  were  the  believing  and  pious,  who  escaped  these  calamities, 
and  shone  forth  in  the  kingdom  of  their  father  Christ,  which  was 
established  about  the  year  70,  on  the  ruins  of  the  former  disperisa^ 
lion.  See  the  Lecture  on  the  Coming  of  Christ,  in  my  Systemat- 
ical Theology. 

To  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  am  inclined  because  that  kingdom 
of  God,  the  subject  of  the  parable,  is  almost  uniformly  represented 
in  the  Jewish  writings,  whence  the  phrase  is  derived,  as  the  polit}' 
of  Israel,  Avhose  subjects  were  the  Jews,  and  hence  called  by  Jose- 
phus,  ©5ox«a,T£a  or  Theocracy.  In  this  sense  Christ,  as  a  Jew, 
must  have  used  it,  and  in  this  sense  it  was  understood  by  his  auditors. 
When  we  open  tlie  book  of  Daniel,  from  which  both  Jews  and 
Christians  have  borrowed  the  phrase  "  kingdom  of  God,"  we  find  it 
described  as  a  kingdom  or  polity  possessed  by  saints,  governed  by 
tlie  God  of  Heaven,  and  c()ntrnsted  with  other  kingdoms  and  poli- 
ties. This  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  is  not  merely  a  dominion  or 
reign;  for  even  this,  involves  the  notion  of  subjects. — In  a  word: 
It  is  the  Christian  Polity  ;  all  the  professors  of  a  Divine  Revolatiou 
are  its  avowed  subjects ;  Jesus  is  the  king;  the  scriptures  are  the 
Jaws,  constitution,  and  statutes  of  the  Kingdom  ;  and  the  rewards 
and  chastisements  annexed  to  tlie  character  of  the  subject,  are  tho 
sanctions  of  the  Laws.  With  this  view  of  the  kingdom,  there  arises 
a  perfect  harmony  between  the  preaching  of  John  and  Jesus;  foi 
darael  is  the  chaff  of  John,  which   was  consijjnpd  to  imquenGhablo 


80     PARABLE  OF  THE  WHEAT  AND  DARNEL. 

harvest  is  the  end  of  this  age  ;  and  the  reapers  are 
the  messengers.  As,  therefore,  the  darnel  is  gather- 
ed and  burnt  in  Hre,  so  shall  it  be  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  age.  Tlie  Son  of  man  will  send  forth  his  mes- 
sengers, and  they  will  gather  out  of  his  kingdom,  all 
offensive  things  and  workers  of  iniquity,  and  cast 
them  into  the  fiery  furnace  :  weejDing  and  gnashing  of 
teeth  shall  be  there.  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine 
like  the  sun,  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  Whoso  - 
ever  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear  ! 


fire ;  while  grain,  wheat,  believers,  were  gathered  into  the  granary 
or  barn.      Compare  Matt.  xiii.  30;  and  Luke  iii.  17. 

I  admit,  the  word  /Bacrasta  kingdom,  should  be  translated  reign, 
when  timK,  motion,  or  secrecy,  is  implied;  as  when  Luke,  xvii.  21_, 
says  the  iti'vj^n  of  God  comes  not  with  observation. — The  reign  of 
God  is  wirhin  yon-  But  even  here,  the  term  rvithin  may  be  contes- 
ted ;  for  ivtoi  is  used  in  the  sense  of  among  by  Xenophon,  in  his 
Cj'rop.  i.  i.  and  in  Anab.  L.  vi.  C.  v.  ^  5.  The  word  fvroj,  how- 
ever, signifies  xvithin,  Matt,  xxiii.  26;  but  there  it  is  used  substan- 
tively. Thus  I  have  given  both  views  of  the  parable,  let  the  reader 
choose  which  he  pleases;  and  probably  he  will  act  most  wisely 
who  believes  both. 

In  the  two  mmor  parables  of  this  section,  our  Lord  gives  a 
beautiful  and  encouraging  prospect  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
the  kingdom.  Like  seed  sown,  whether  observed  or  not,  it  still  prO' 
gresses.  The  size  of  the  mustard  tree  is  said  to  be  very  considera- 
ble in  the  East.  One  Rabbi  Simeon  narrates  in  the  Jerusalem  Tal- 
mud, that  he  had  a  stalk  of  mustard  in  his  field,  on  which  he  was 
wont  to  climb  as  on  a  fiw-tree.  Small,  even  the  least  of  sects  was 
the  Christian,  at  the  time  our  Lord  pronounced  this  prophetic  para- 
ble; but  now  it  is  the  greatest;  and  we  may  rest  assured  it  will  uni- 
versally triumph. 


SECTION  NINETEENTH. 

A  Storm  on  the  Lake. 

Now,  on  the  same  day,  when  the  evening  was 
come,  Jesus,  seeing  great  multitudes  about  him,  gave 
orders  to  his  disciples  to  pass  over  to  the  opposite 


A  STORM  ON  THE  LAKE.  81 

shore.  But,  as  they  went,  a  certain  scribe,*  coming 
to  him,  said  :  Master,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever 
thou  goest.  Jesus  said  to  him :  Foxes  have  holes, 
and  fowls  of  heaven  roosts,  but  the  Son  of  man  has 
not  where  to  rest  his  head.  Then  he  said  to  another : 
Follow  me  ;  but  he  repUed :  Master,  permit  me  first 
to  go  and  bury  my  father.  Jesus  answered  :  Let  the 
deadf  bury  their  dead ;  follow  me,  and  publish  the 
reign  of  God.  Then  another  also  said :  Master, 
I  will  go  with  thee,  but  suffer  me  first  to  bid  my  family 
farewell.  Jesus  answered  him:  No  man,  looking 
behind,  after  he  has  put  his  hand  to  the  plough,  is  fit 
for  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Now,  when  he  had  gone  aboard  the  vessel,  his  dis- 
ciples, dismissing  the  multitude,  followed  him,  and 
launched  forth,  accompanied  by  some  other  barks. 
But  as  they  sailed,  he  fell  asleep  ;  and  a  storm  cora- 


*  The  scribes,  of  whom  Ezra  was  the  most  eminent,  assumed 
their  name  and  profession  about  900  years  before  Christ,  2  Chron. 
xvii.  7 — 9.  Their  general  employment  was  to  transcribe  books, 
read,  and  expound  the  law,  Nehem.  viii.  7'^-8.  They  were  divided  into 
two  classes.  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical.  The  Civil  class  was  accessi- 
ble by  men  of  any  tribe,  and  consisted  of  various  ranks  in  office, 
from  the  common  scrivener  to  the  secretary  of  state.  The  Ecclesi- 
astical were  descendants  of  Levi,  and  the  learned  men  of  the  na- 
tion ;  hence  called  doctors  or  teachers  of  law,  which  they  expound- 
ed to  the  people,  Matt.  xvii.  10 ;  Mark  xii.  35.  Indeed,  they  were 
the  preaching  clergy  of  the  Jews,  whose  business  was  to  instruct  the 
people,  whilst  the  office  of  the  priest  was  to  attend  on  the  sacrifices : 
but  it  seems  these  scribes  were  strenuous  advocates  of  traditions,  and 
litigious  about  trivial  rites. 

+  Let  the  spiritually/ dead  bury  those  who  are  dead  in  the  common 
acceptation  of  the  word.  The  Jews  called  all  dead,  who  lived  not 
in  conformity  to  the  law.  The  term,  dead,  frequently  occurs  in  the 
Scripture,  in  a  figurative  sense,  implying  those  who  are  insensible  to 
the  duties  and  precepts  of  religion.  Such  Jesus  would  leave  to  at- 
tend to  the  concerns  of  the  literally  dead,  whom  they  resembled  ; 
but  commands  all,  into  whose  souls  the  divine  life  had  entered,  to 
pursue  its  dictates.  That  man  who  has  no  spiritual  sensibility,  as 
well  as  he  who  would  manifest  more  concerns  for  the  affairs  of  the 
present  life,  than  for  those  of  the  spiritual  and  eternal,  must  be  ill 
adapted  to  serve  in  the  public  offices  of  religion 

11 


83  A  STORM  ON  THE  LAKE. 

Ing  down  on  the  lake,*  the  waves  beat  into  the  ves- 
sel, so  that  they  were  in  danger.f  And  the  dis- 
ciples came  to  him,  sleeping  astern  on  a  pillow,  and 
awoke  him,  saying :  Master,  save  us,  we  perish ! 
Then  he  arose  and  rebuked  the  wind  and  the  sea, 
saying  :  Peace,  be  still !  And  the  wind  and  swell  of 
the  water  ceased,  and  there  was  a  great  calm.t  Then 
he  said  to  them :  Why  are  ye  so  fearful  ?  Where  is 
your  faith  ?  But  the  men  feared  exceedingly,  and 
wondered,  saying  one  to  another :  What  kind  of  per- 
son is  this  ?  for  he  commands  even  the  wind  and  the 
sea,  and  they  obey  him. 

^'m  ■  ■  '  ■■  -■  '  '  ' 

*  This  lake  is  a  collection  of  fresh  water,  and  abounds  with 
the  best  fish  ;  therefore,  its  coasts  were  inhabited  by  fishermen,  who 
collected  much  money  from  the  fish-markets.  It  is  called  the  Sea  of 
Chinnereth,  Numb,  xxxiv.  11 ;  Josh.  xiii.  27;  Lake  of  Genesareth, 
Luke  V.  1,  from  a  tract  of  Galilee,  so  called,  which  bounded  it*  on 
the  west;  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  Matt.  iv.  IS,  from  the  province  of  that 
name  bounding  it  on  the  west  and  north  ;  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  John 
Vi.  1,  from  a  city  of  that  name,  built  by  Herod,  tetrarch  of  Galilee, 
in  honour  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  which  is  situated  in  the  most  fertile 
part  of  Galilee,  on  the  southwest  extremity  of  the  lake,  and  possess- 
ing many  privileges,  became  one  of  the  principal  cities  in  those 
parts,  having  in  it  thirteen  synagogues.  The  lake  is  said,  by  Jose- 
phus,  to  be  five  miles  in  breadth,  and  twelve  in  length ;  but  Pliny 
makes  it  seventeen  miles  long,  and  six  broad. 

t  There  is  a  strong  current  in  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  caused  by 
the  river  Jordan  passing  through  the  midst  of  it ;  and,  when  this 
current  is  opposed  by  contrary  winds,  which  sometimes  blow  here 
with  the  force  of  a  hurricane,  from  the  southeast,  sweeping  from 
the  mountains  into  the  lake,  a  very  boisterous  sea  is  instantly  raised, 
which  the  small  vessels  of  the  country  are  ill  qualified  to  resist.—- 
E.  D.  Clarke's  Travels. 

I  This  is  proof  complete  of  the  miraculous  power  which  was  ex- 
erted on  the  occasion.  The  surface  of  the  sea  was  smooth  imme- 
diately at  the  words,  Be  still  /  Whereas,  after  a  storm,  the  sea  ge- 
nerally remains  long  in  agitation.  Hence  this  circumstance  gav« 
force  and  evidence  to  the  miracle. 


SECTION  TWENTIETH. 

Cure  of  the  Gadarene  Demoniac. 

And  they  sailed  down  to  the  country  of  the  Gada- 
reneSjWhich  hes  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  opposite 
GaHlee  ;  and  immediately  on  landing,  there  met  him 
a  man  of  the  city,*  coming  qut  of  the  tombs,  who  had 
been  possessed  of  demons  a  long  time,  and  wore  no 
clothes,  nor  abode  in  a  house,  but  dwelt  among  the 
tombs. t  This  man  was  so  exceedingly  fierce,  that 
none  could  pass  that  way ;  nor  could  any  man  bind 
him,  even  with  chains  :  for  he  had  been  often  bound 
with  chains  and  fetters,  but  the  chains  had  been 
plucked  asunder  by  him,  and  the  fetters  broken  in 

*  Because  of  some  inconsistency  in  tiie  narration  of  tliis  sec- 
tion by  the  Evangelists,  and  the  extraordinary  nature  of  the 
subject,  the  rantings  of  Rousseau  and  the  motley  groupe  of  his 
faithless  disciples,  have  been  as  extravagant,  as  they  have  been 
hazardous  and  unfounded.  The  verbal  discrepances  are  these  : 
1.  Matthew  calls  the  people,  inhabiting  the  country  on  the 
south  east  of  the  Lake  opposite  Galilee,  Gergesenes,  but  Mark  and 
Luke  give  them  the  name  of  Gadarejies.  Compare  Matt,  viii, 
28  ;  Mark  v.  1  ;  Luke  viii,  -26.  Now  this  discrepance  is  reconciled 
by  a  single  geographical  remark  :  Gadara  and  Gergesa  were  two 
neighbouring  cities,  in  the  district  of  Decapolis,  and  the  country  was 
indifferently  called  by  the  name  of  either  of  these  cities.  Here, 
therefore,  there  subsists  no  discord.  This  remark  will  be  farther 
confirmed  by  the  following  brief  notice.  Gadara,  according  to  Jose- 
phus,  was  the  metropolis  of  Perea,  or  the  region  beyond  the  Jor- 
dan, and  being  not  only  the  capital,  but  also  a  very  rich  cit}',  it  was 
of  great  note  in  that  country.  Nor,  if  we  follow  Schoetgen,  will  the 
city  of  Gergesa  yield  in  popular  fame  to  her  sister  city. — Among  its 
vuins  are  seen,  two  Amphitheatres,  solidly  built  of  marble  ;three 
temples  ;  several  palaces  ;  and  a  whole  street,  ornamented  on  both 
sides,  by  a  row  of  marble  columns  of  the  Corinthian  order. 

t  The  second  discrepance  arises  from  Mark's  declaration,  that 
the  Demoniac  came  out  of  the  tombs,  whilst  Luke  says  he  came  out 
of  the  city.  This  is  reconciled  in  ray  translation,  by  saying,  he  was 
a  man  of  tlie  city,  as  Jesus  is  said  to  be  of,  arto,  Nazareth,  John  i.  45. 
and  came  from  the  tombs.  According  to  Josephiis  and  E.  D.  Clarke, 
tliese  tombs  were  cut  out  of  the  rocks  on  the  borders  of  the  Lake,  and, 
were  such  caves,  as  served  to  shelter  or  conceal  robbers.  Shaw 
says,  the  chief  Moors  have  cupolas,  built  over  their  graves,  ef 
four  yards  square,  which  are  frequently  open. 


84  CURE    OF   THE    OADARENE    DEMONIAC. 

pieces ;  and  he  was  driven  by  the  demon,  into  desert 
phices.  Night  and  day  was  he  in  the  mountains,  or 
in  the  tombs,  continually  crying  and  bruising  himself 
with  stones.  But  when  he  saw  Jesus,  he  ran  and  fell 
prostrate  before  him,  crying  with  a  loud  voice  :  What 
hast  thou  to  do  with  me  ?  Son  of  the  most  high  God, 
I  beseech  thee  torment  me  not ;  for  Jesus  had  com- 
manded the  impure  spirit  to  come  out  of  the  man.* 
Then  Jesus  asked  nim:  What  is  thy  name?  And 
he  answered:  Legion;  because  many  demons  had 
entered  into  him.  Now  a  great  herd  of  SAvine,  about 
two  thousand,  were  nigh,  feeding  on  the  mountain : 
and  the  demons  earnestly  besought  him,  not  to  drive 
them  out  of  the  country,  nor  into  the  abyss;  but  if  he 
should  cast  them  out,  to  suffer  them  to  enter  into  the 
swine  :  so  Jesus  gave  them  leave.  Then  went  the 
demons  out  of  the  man,  and  entered  into  the  swine  ; 
and  the  whole  herd  rushed  down  a  steep  bank  into  the 
Lake  and  were  choked.f    Now  when  the  keepers 


*  Matthew  mentions  two  demoniacs,  Mark  and  Luke,  only  one. 
Here  we  can  apply  the  maxim  of  Le  Clerc  :  "  He  who  relates  manj 
things,  comprehends  the  few ;  whilst  he  who  relates  the  few  only, 
denies  not  the  relation  of  the  many."  But  a  reason  for  this  difference  is 
usually  assigned  from  Augustine,  that  one  of  the  demoniacs  had  been 
a  person  of  great  respectability,  and  the  country  was  in  greater 
anxiety  concerning  him.  Farmer  and  Wetstein  are  nearly  of  the 
same  opinion.  Nor  is  it  improbable,  that  two  demoniacs  might  have 
met  on  this  occasion,  who  lived  separately  at  other  times.  How- 
ever, a  principal  reason  may  be  collected  from  the  Gospels  them- 
selves, why  Mark  and  Luke  mention  only  one;  because  only  one 
being  grateful  for  his  cure,  his  gratitude  is  recorded  by  the  two 
Evangelists,  who  were  more  intent  on  inculcating  the  moral,  than  in 
magnifying  the  power  of  their  Master.     See  Newcome's  Harmony. 

t  The  fourth  objection  arises  from  the  destructive  tendency  of  the 
miracle.  But  this  being  the  only  miracle  wrought  by  Christ  to  the 
disadvantage  of  any  individual,  supposes  some  special  cause.  Now 
the  keepers  of  these  swine  were  either  Jews  or  Heathens  :  If  Jews, 
a  punitive  miracle  may  he  allowed,  in  the  destruction  of  their 
swine,  kept  Jn  direct  violation  of  their  own  Law.  which  they  ac- 
knowledged to  be  of  divine  origin.  But  if  these  Gadarenes  were 
heathen,  their  city,  being  in  the  confines  of  Palestine,  was  inhabited 
by  disciples  of  Moses,  and  their  conduct  in  keeping  swine,  among 


CURE  OP  THE  GADARENE  DEMONIAC.       85 

saw  what  had  happened,  they  fled,  and  told  every 
thing  iii  the  city  and  country,  and  what  had  befallen 
the  demoniac.  Therefore  the  whole  city  and  people 
of  the  neighbouring  country  of  the  Gadarenes,  went 
Out  to  see  what  had  been  done  ;  and  coming  to  Jesus, 
they  found  the  man  out  of  whom  the  demons  had  de- 
parted, sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  clothed  and  of  a 
sound  mind,*  and  they  were  afraid :  and  on  being 
informed,  by  those  who  had  seen,  of  the  means  by 
which  the  demoniac  had  been  cured,  and  concerning 
the  swine,  they  began  to  entreat  him  to  leave  their 
coasts.  So  entering  the  vessel,  he  was  about  to 
return,  when  the  man  who  had  been  possessed  of  the 
demons  earnestly  begged  leave  to  accompany  him. 
But  Jesus  sent  him  away,  saying :  Return  to  thy 
home  and  friends,  and  tell  them,  how  great  things 
God  in  pity  has  done  for  thee.  So  departing,  he  pub- 
lished through  the  whole  city  and  Decapohs,  what 
things  Jesus  had  done  for  him ;  and  all  were  amazed. 


the  Jews,  was  not  only  a  snare  to  them,  but  open  contempt  of  the 
national  religion,  founded  on  divine  authority,  and  therefore  merito- 
rious of  rebuke.  Moreover,  though  the  miracle  was  of  individual 
disadvantage,  its  tendency  was  benevolent ;  for  in  that  country^ 
swine's  flesh  has  a  powerful  influence  in  superinducing  Leprosy^ 
which  is  a  most  bainful  and  loathsome  disease,  and  was  therefore  gra- 
ciously prohibited. 

*  Here  Luke  and  Mark  seem  plainly  to  express  their  opinion  that 
the  man's  disorder  was  insanity.  This  is  farther  evident  from  the 
language  of  the  man  himself*  He  says,  his  name  was  legion!  Such 
a  name  could  only  originate  in  a  mind,  sufficiently  frantic  to  imagine 
something  of  which  there  could  be  no  possibility  of  knowledge. 
Again  could  demons  have  such  predilection  {ov  the  country  of  Gada^ 
va,  and  such  dread  of  being  drowned,  as  to  be  so  importunate  with 
Jesus,  not  to  drive  them  out  of  that  country,  nor  into  the  deep  f 
If  they  were  so  much  afraid  of  water,  and  so  desirous  of  inhabiting 
the  swine,  why  did  they  run  straightway  into  the  water,  and  destroy 
their  new  abode  ?  Now,  if  the  man's  case  were  a  certain  species  of 
insanity,  aU  tlus  would  seem  natural ;  and  the  narrative,  intelligible, 
but  dressed  in  the  peculiar  phraseology,  and  conveyed  through  the 
medium  of  the  popular  superstition,  with  which  the  historian  had  no 
right  to  intermeddle,  ^ee  Lecture  eighth  of  my  Svstematiral 
Theology, 


SECTION  TWENTY-FIRST. 

Cure  of  the  Paralytic. 

Now  when  Jesus  had  passed  over  in  the  vessel  to 
the  other  side,  a  great  multitude  gathered  around  hinif 
and  rejoiced  at  his  return ;  for  they  were  all  waiting 
for  him.  And  entering  Capernaum  after  some  days' 
absence,  it  was  reported  that  he  was  at  home ;  an(i 
immediately  so  many  were  assembled  that  even  the 
places  about  the  door  could  not  contain  them ;  and 
he  preached  the  doctrine  to  them.  And  it  came  to 
pass  that  while  he  was  teaching,  there  were  present 
Pharisees  and  Doctors  of  Law,  who  had  come  from 
Jerusalem,  and  from  every  village  of  Galilee  and 
Judea ;  and  a  mighty  power  of  healing  was  displayed 
before  them.  Lo !  four  men  came,  bearing  on  a  couch 
a  man  sick  of  the  palsy  ;  and  they  tried  to  bring  him 
and  place  him  before  Jesus  :  but  finding  no  means  of 
approaching  him,  because  of  the  multitude,  they 
ascended  the  flat-roof,*  andhaving  removed  the  cover- 


*  The  houses  of  the  Jews,  as  well  as  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks 
and  Romans,  were  j^a^-row/ei/,  and  had  stairs  on  the  outside,  or  in 
the  porch,  by  which  persons  might  ascend  the  roof,  without  entering 
the  house.  In  some  of  their  cities,  these  roofs  form  a  continued  ter- 
race, extending  from  one  end  of  the  city  to  the  other  ;  so  that  a  per- 
son on  the  roof,  might  flee  from  thecity,  without  coming  down,  Matt. 
xxiv.  17.  These  roofs  are  covered  with  a  strong  coat  of  plaster  of 
terrace,  having  in  them  a  trap-door,  level  with  the  roof,  and  covered 
with  the  same  materials,  which  opened  for  the  convenience  of  ascen- 
ding to  take  fresh  air.  The  roofs  were  also  furnished  with  battle- 
ments round  about  for  safety,  Deut.  xxii.  8  ;  Judges  xvi  27 ;  2  Sam. 
xi.  2.  Now  many  have  thought  that  the  men,  having  ascended  the 
roof,  forced  this  trap-door,  and  removed  some  part  of  the  adjoining 
roof,  to  make  way  for  the  lowering  of  the  paralytic  on  his  bed,  into 
the  midst  of  the  house  where  Jesus  sat. 

Shaw,  however,  has  very  ingeniously,  and,  I  think,  successfully, 
shown,  that  the  roof  was  not  broken,  nor  the  trap-door  forced,  by 
the  bearers  of  the  paralytic.  He  says  the  entrance  ;»  one  of  the 
principal  houses,  is  through  a  porcii,  having  benches  on  each  side, 
and  sufficiently  large  for  transacting  business  and  receiving  visits, 
persons  being  seldom  admitted  into  the  interior  of  the  dwelling.  In 
fhis  gateway  are  general)}'  placed  the  stairs,  leading  to   the  upper 


©URE    OF   THE   PARALYTIC.  87 

ing  and  forced  a  passage,  they  lowered  down,  by  the 
tihng,  the  couch  on  which  the  Paralytic  lay,  into  the 
court  before  Jesus,  who  seeing  their  faith  said : 
Courage,  son ;  be  thy  sins  forgiven.* 

Then  began  some  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  to 
reason,  saying  within  themselves :  Why  does  this 
fellow  speak  blasphemies  ?  Who  can  forgive  sins, 
but  the  One  God?  Then  Jesus  perceiving  their 
thoughts,   said  to  them :   Why   reasoning  in    your 

apartments  of  the  house.  From  this  porch  the  entrance  is  through 
a  large  court  or  quadrangle,  generally  paved  with  marble,  and  strew- 
ed with  mats  or  carpets  for  the  accommodation  of  comprny,  being 
the  usual  place  of  reception  for  large  parties  or  entertainments  ;  and 
from  the  structure  of  the  building,  being  in  the  resemblance  of  a 
square,  around  the  court,  properly  styled  the  midst  of  the  house, 
Luke  V.  19.  The  court  is  covered  with  a  veil,  as  a  protection  from 
the  heat  or  inclemency  of  the  weather,  which  being  extended  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  by  ropes  fi.xed  to  the  parapet  walls  or  ballus- 
trades,  can  be  rolled  up  at  pleasure.  The  bearers  of  the  Paralytic, 
therefore,  either  forced  a  passage  through  the  door,  in  the  gateway, 
which  leads  to  the  roof,  or  they  ascended  by  the  adjoining  terraces, 
and  as  Jesus  was,  in  all  probability,  preaching  to  the  people  in  the 
court,  from  one  of  the  windows  of  the  house,  the  men  having  rolled 
back  a  part  of  the  veil,  let  down  the  sick  man  over  the  parapet  wall 
of  the  roof,  into  the  area,  or  court  of  the  house  before  Jesus.  In 
justification  of  this  interpretation,  Shaw  observes,  that  areyrj,  transla- 
ted roo/",  may  mean  any  covering,  consequently  the  veil  or  covering 
of  the  court;  that  the  word  a^o^v^avtiif  breaking  up,  is  omitted  by  the 
Cambridge  Ms,  and  S3'riac  version  ;  and  that  the  preposition  Sta, 
through,  may  mean  by,  agreeably  to  Acts  ix.  25 ;  and  2  Cor.  xi.  33, 
where  it  is  rendered  6^  or  oyer,  the  wall.  Hence  the  couch  of  the 
Paralytic  was  let  down  over  the  battlement,  or  ballustrade,  by  the 
tiling  into  the  court,  or  midst  of  the  house  where  Jesus  was  teaching: 
and  there  was  no  breaking  of  roofs  or  forcing  of  trap-doors,  but  a 
suitable  zeal,  faith,  and  perseverance,  manifested  by  the  bearers  of 
the  Paralytic,  which  God  rewarded  with  an  abundant  blessing. 

*  Physicians  say  that  palsies  are  sometimes  occasioned  by  intem- 
perance, if  this  was  an  instance,  great  appropriateness  would  appear 
in  the  address  of  Jesus  :  Thy  sins  be  forgiven.  We  have  already 
shown  both  the  Jewish  opinion,  and,  indeed,  the  scriptural  doctrine, 
of  connexion  between  sin  and  disease,  we  therefore  judge  it  unneces- 
sary, to  add  any  further  remarks  at  present,  but  only  observe,  that  when 
sin  is  removed  or  forgiven,  disease  must  depart ;  and  he  that  would 
live  long,  and  see  good  days,  must  do  good  and  shun  evil  contin- 
ually. 


6^  CUKE    OF    THE    PARALYTIC. 

hearts,  think  ye  evil  ?  Whether  is  it  easier  to  say  to 
this  paralytic :  Thy  sins  be  forgiven,  or  Rise  and 
Walk  ?  But  that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man 
has  authority  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  I  say,  (addres- 
sing the  paralytic)  arise,  take  up  thy  couch*  and  go  to 
thine  abode.  Then  instantly  he  arose  in  their  pres- 
ence, took  up  that  whereon  he  lay,  and  went  home, 
glorifying  God.  But  when  the  multitude  saw  this, 
they  were  all  amazed  and  filled  with  fear,  saying  : 
We  have  seen  strangef  things  to-day  :  and  they  glo- 
fied  God,  who  had  given  such  power  to  men. 

*  The  beds  of  the  eastern  nations,  especially  the  Jews,  consisted 
of  only  a  matress,  laid  on  the  floor,  and  over  it  a  sheet ;  but  in  win- 
ter a  carpet. — Harmer. 

+  The  strange  things  which  they  had  seen  that  day  were  these  : 

1.  The  power  of  working  miracles  displayed  before  them,  in  a 
Very  eminent  degree. 

2.  The  return  of  a  prophet,  after  an  absence  of  many  generations, 
whose  claims  to  a  divine  commission  were,  that  day,  duly  attested  by 
the  miracle  :  for  the  Jews  had  no   prophets  from  Malachi  to  Christ. 

3.  An  authority  assumed  by  man  to  act  as  the  deputy  of  the  Most 
High,  in  absolving  sin  ;  and  saving  mankind. 

4.  Lastly,  the  reign  of  heaven,  commenced  under  the  auspices  of 
their  long  expected  Messiah. 

Oh  !  these  were  strange  things  to  the  Jews,  and,  heaven  knows, 
to  many  Christians.  Reader,  is  thy  soul  under  the  influence  of 
heaven's  reign  ?  Is  the  kingdom  within  you  ?  Is  thy  soul  at  peace 
with  thy  Maker  ?  and  art  thou  reconciled  to  him  through  the  blood 
of  the  everlasting  Covenant?  If  not,  thou  art  as  blind,  dark,  and 
hardened  as  these  Jews,  who  crucified  their  Lord;  and  except  a 
divine  power  be  exerted  on  thy  soul,  thou  canst  not  see  the  kingdom. 
May  God  speak  to  the  frozen,  and  morally  dead  thousands  of  man- 
kind, that  they  also  may  exclaim:  We  have  seen  strange  things 
H-day  ! 


SECTION  TWENTY  SECOND. 

Call  of  Matthew  Levi* 

And  after  these  things  as  Jesus  passed  thence,  he 
saw  a  Publican,  named  Matthew  Levi,  son  of  Alphe- 
us,  sitting  at  the  Tax-office,  and  said  to  him ;  Follow 


CALL    OF   MATTHEW    LEVI.  89 

me.  Then  he  arose,  and  leaving  all,  followed  .lesus. 
And  Levi*  made  him  a  great  feast  in  his  own  house. 
But  when  Jesus  sat  doAvn  to  meat,  a  great  company  of 
publicans  and  sinners,  who  had  followed  him,  came 
and  also  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  disciples.  Then 
the  Pharisees  and  iScribes  beholding  him  eat  with 
publicans  and  sinners,  murmured,  saying  to  his  disci- 
ples :  Wh}-  do  ye  and  your  Master  eat  and  drink  with 
publicansf    and  sinners?     But  Jesus   hearing,    said: 

*  The  opinion  of  Grotius  on  this  passage,  that  Matthew  and  Levi 
mean  tlie  same  person,  is  now  become  a  settled  point  among  the 
learned.  We  know  but  little  of  his  history  ;  yet  it  appears,  he  was 
a  Jew,  and  a  native  of  Galilee  ;  but  of  what  town  is  not  known. 
As  a  Tax-gatherer  for  the  Romans,  his  office  was  to  receive  the  cus- 
toms for  persons  and  goods  passing  the  Lake  Gennesareth.  Though 
publicans  were  too  generally  objectionable  characters,  among  the 
Jews,  some  of  them  were  men  of  great  probity  and  benevolence,  as 
Zaccheus,  Luke  xix.  8  ;  and  perhaps  Matthew  was  of  a  similar  dis- 
position. From  his  making  a  great  feast  in  his  own  house,  and  en- 
tertaining so  many,  it  would  appear,  that  he  was  a  man  of  wealth. 
Notwithstanding,  he  readily  forsook  all,  at  the  call  of  Jesus,  and 
became  a  zealous,  faithful,  and  devoted  disciple  till  death. 

t  Publicans  were  the  collectors,  and  many  of  them,  ^rmers  of  the 
customs  and  taxes  imposed  by  the  Romans  on  the  Jewish  nation. 
There  were  at  that  time  two  sorts  of  publicans  in  the  Roman  Em- 
pire :  Such  as  farmed  the  taxes  of  a  whole  province,  who  were 
generally  knights,  and  men  of  honour  and  character,  highly  esteemed 
and  eulogized  by  Cicero,  in  his  Orations,  as  the  ornament  of  the 
City,  and  support  of  the  Commonwealth.  But  these  did  not  levy 
the  taxes  in  person,  but  employed  under-farmers,  who  often  exacted 
moie  than  was  due.  and  practised  great  injustice  and  oppression, 
Luke  iii.  IS.  And  as  in  every  country,  the  raising  of  taxes  for  a 
foreign  power  is  odious,  it  was  peculiarly  so  to  the  Jews,  who  regard- 
ed the  paying  of  tribute  to  the  Heathen  powers,  as  little  better  than 
apostacy  from  their  religious  allegiance.  Hence  the  exaction  of 
these  taxes,  by  these  under-farmers,  frequently  in  an  oppressive 
manner,  rendered  the  office  detestable,  and  led  to  the  classification  of 
the  publicans  with  sinners. 

Notwithstanding  the  appellation,  sinners,  be  attached  to  these 
men,  who  are  classed  with  the  publicans,  and  sat  down  to  eat  with 
Jesus,  they  were  probably  men  of  as  good  moral  character,  as  the 
Pharisees,  who  held  them  in  abhorrence.  The  fact  seems  to  be,  that 
they  were  heathens,  perhaps  Romans,  or  officers  of  that  government, 
and  therefore  entitled  to  the  name  because,  they  did  not  acknowledge 
the  living  and  true  God.     The  word  sinner,  as  used  by  the  Jews,  in 

12 


90  CALL    OP   MATTHEW    LEVI. 

They  who  are  well,  need  not  a  physician ;  but  they 
who  are  sick.  Go  ye  therefore  and  learn  what  means, 
"  I  prefer*  mercy  to  saciifice  "  For  I  came  not  to  call 
the  righteous. f  but  sinners,  to  a  change  of  mind. 

Then  came  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  who  were 
accustomed  to  fast,  and  said  to  him :  Why  do  the  dis- 
ciples of  John  and  of  the  Pharisees  fast  often,  whilst 
thine  fast  not,  but  eat  and  drink?  Jesus  answered: 
Do  the  companions  of  the  bridegroom  fast  while  tlie 
bridegroom  is  with  them  ?  But  the  days  will  come 
when  the  bridegroom  will  be  taken  away  from  them  ; 
then  will  they  fast  in  those  days. 

And  he  spake  also  a  parable  to  them  :  No  man  puts 
a  piece  of  new  cloth  on  an  old  garment ;  for  the  new 
agrees  not  with  the  old ;  and  he  takes  away  the  new 
patch  from  the  garment,  and  the  rent  is  made  worse. | 

its  general  acceptation,  meant  no  more  than  a  heathen  or  gentile  j 
and  was  used  as  a  political  word  of  contempt.  Mat.  xviii.  17  j  xx. 
19  ,•  xxvi.  45 ;  Gal.  ii.  15. 

*  The  common  translation,  "  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice," 
is  not  scripturally  true,  and  is,  moreover,  calculated  to  mislead  the 
reader,  and  set  the  Scriptures  at  variance  with  themselves.  It  is  a 
Hebraism,  where  the  negative  is  used  for  comparison.  See  Intro- 
duction, p.  225.  18. 

t  Often  in  Scripture,  saint^  or  righteous,  and  sinner,  are  used  as 
mere  political  distinctions,  equivalent  to  Jew  and  Gentile  :  and  con- 
sequently, no  indication  of  real  character.  Notwithstanding,  if  we 
regard  the  origin  of  this  distinction,  and  the  literal  use  of  these  terms, 
we  will  perceive  a  propriety  and  force,  which  should  not  be  disre- 
garded. The  Jews,  as  a  nation,  stood  in  covenant  relationship  with 
the  Living  and  True  God,  while  the  Gentiles  were  aliens  by  idola- 
try. In  religion,  the  Jews  were,  therefore,  sanctified,  called,  holy, 
and  a  peculiar  people.  So  also  in  Christianity,  they  who  have 
avouched  the  Lord  to  be  their  God,  been  baptized  into  the  name  and 
religion  of  Jesus,  and  in  sincerity  of  heart,  devote  themselves  con- 
tinually to  the  sesvice  of  God  in  Christ,  seeking  and  expecting  the 
sanctifying  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  are  righteous,  and  all 
others  are  sinners,  no  matter  what  their  moral  character  may  be  ;  for 
men  are  justified  by  faith  and  not  by  deeds  of  the  Law. 

X  This  passage  is  somewhat  obscure  in  the  Greek.  The  meaning 
is:  either  the  new  patch,  from  its  greater  strength  and  weight,  tears 
the  old  garment;  or  the  person,  beholding  how  unseemly  it  looks, 
tears  it  off,  and  thereby  makes  the  rent  worse. 


CALL  OF  MATTHEW  LEVI,  91 

NeitKer  do  men  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles,  for  the 
new  wine  will  burst*  the  bottles,  and  be  spilled,  and 
the  bottles  will  be  destroyed.  But  new  wine  must  be 
put  into  new  bottles,  and  both  will  be  preserved. 
Nor  does  any  one  after  drinkmg  old,  immediately 
desire  new  ;  for  he  says  the  old  is  better. 


*  Then,  and  even  now,  bottles  were  made  of  goat-skins  or  leather, 
in  many  of  the  eastern  countries.  If  new  wine  be  put  in  them, 
when  they  are  old  and  not  easily  distended,  the  fermentation  bursts 
the  old  bottles. — The  meaning  of  Christ  in  both  these  comparisons, 
is,  that  a  mixture  of  his  doctrine,  and  the  opinions  of  either  ancient 
or  modern  Pharisees,  will  not  succeed.  By  the  preference  of  the 
drinker  for  old  wine,  he  intimates  the  power  of  prejudice  and  educa> 
tion  in  obstructing  the  progress  of  truth. 


SECTION  TWENTY-THIRD. 

Cure  of  a  Hemorrhage,  and  Jairus'  Daughter, 

Whilst  he  thus  spake,  lo !  there  came  a  man  named 
Jairus,  a  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  and  falling  prostrate 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  earnestly  besought  him  to  come 
to  his  house,  saying:  My  only  daughter  is  now  dying  ;* 
come  and  lay  thy  hands  on  her  that  she  may  recover 
and  live.  Then  Jesus  and  his  disciples  arose  and 
followed  him.  But  as  he  went,  a  great  multitude  fol- 
lowing, occasioned  a  throng.     And  a  certain  woman, 

*  According  to  Matthew,  Jairus  thought  his  daughter  actually 
dead,  but  Mark  and  Luke  represent  her  at  the  point  of  death;  per- 
haps the  father  did  not  know  whether  she  was  dead  or  not,  but  might 
be  aiVaid  that  she  had  deceased,  from  the  circumstances  in  which  he 
left  her.  Matthew,  therefore,  relates  the  narrative  according  to  the 
apprehensions  of  the  parent ;  the  other  Evangelists  state  the  matter 
agieeably  to  the  fact.  The  desire  of  Jairus,  that  Jesus  might  go  and 
lay  his  hands  on  his  daughter,  was  in  accordance  with  the  ancient 
custom  practised  by  the  prophets,  who  accompanied  prayer  for  any 
person  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands,  Num.  xxvii.  18.  Mat.  xix. 
13.  Jairus  believing  Jesus  a  great  prophet,  and  having  heard  of  his 
mighty  deeds,  would  naturally  be  inclined  to  think  that  if  he  prayed 
for  his  daughter,  God  would  hear  and  grant  his  request,  Gen.  xx,  7". 


92      CURE  OF  A  HEMORRHAGE — JAIRUS'  DA^GHTEK, 

having  a  hemorrhage  for  twelve  years,  who  had  suf- 
fered much  by  several  physicians,  on  whom  she  had 
spent  all  she  possessed,  but  instead  of  receiving  any 
relief,  she  rather  became  w^orse,  having  heard  of  Je- 
sus, came  behind  in  the  crowd,  and  touched  his  man- 
tle ;  for  she  had  said :  If  I  can  but  touch  his  clothes, 
I  shall  recover  ;  and  immediately  her  issue  of  blood 
was  stanched,  and  she  felt  that  the  disorder  in  her 
body  was  cured.  Jesus  knowing,  power  had  pro- 
ceeded from  him,  turned,  and  looking  round  on  the 
crowd,  said  :  Who  touched  my  clothes  ?  His  disciples 
answered  :  Master,  thou  seest  how  the  crowd  press 
thee,  and  sayest  thou,  Who  touched  me  1  But  the 
woman,  seeing  she  could  not  be  concealed,  and  know- 
ing what  had  been  done  for  her,  came  trembling  and 
threw  herself  prostrate  before  him,  and  declared,  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  people,  for  what  cause  she  had 
touched  him,  and  how  she  had  been  cured.  Then 
said  Jesus  to  her :  Courage,  daughter,  thy  faith  has 
saved  thee ;  Go  in  peace,  and  be  thou  cured  of  thy 
disorder. 

Now  while  he  spake,  a  messenger  came  from  the 
Ruler's  house,  saving :  Thy  daughter  is  dead,  trou- 
ble not  the  Teacher  any  further.*     But  Jesus>  hear- 

*  It  seems  evident  IVom  this  mess;ige,  that  all  the  liarnionizers 
are  mistaken  in  the  chronological  arrangement  of  this  section.  Had 
Jesus  raised  to  life  the  widow  of  Nain's  son,  before  the  application. 
of  Jairus,  on  behalf  of  his  dying  daughter,  the  village  of  ISain  being 
in  the  vicinity  of  Capernaum,  all  would  have  been  fully  informed 
of  a  transaction  so  public  and  miraculous  :  and,  therefore,  the  family 
of  Jairus  would  have  been  induced  to  retain  hope,  even  after  the  de- 
cease of  the  child  ;  but  instead  of  confidence,  they  relinquish  a  ease 
so  hopeless.  Though  Priestley  followed  the  general  order  adopted 
by  others,  in  placing  the  raising  of  the  widov/'s  son  before  that  of 
Jairus'  daughter,  he  was  aware  of  the  inconsistency  of  such  ar- 
rangement. He  even  thinks  that  though  Luke  is  particular  iu  refer- 
ring the  account  of  the  widow's  son  to  an  earlier  period,  yet  seeiag- 
his  chronology  is  by  no  means  exact,  he  might  be  mistaken  about 
the  order  of  these  events.  Hence  there  subsists  a  beautiful  grada- 
tion in  the  three  miracles,  wrought  in  the  restoration  of  three  persons, 
to  life — The^r^-^  was  just  dead,  the  second  carried  out  to  be  buried*, 
and  the  third  had  been  buried  four  days. 


eURE  OF  A  HEMORRHAGE — JAIRUs' DAUGHTER.       ^3 

ing  this  message,  said  to  the  Ruler  of  the  synagogue ; 
Be  not  afraid,  only  believe.  And  when  he  came  to 
the  Ruler's  house,  he  suffered  none  to  enter  save  Pe- 
ter, James,  and  John ;  and  the  father  and  mother  of 
the  child.  Seeing  the  minstrels,*  and  the  tumult  occa- 
sioned by  those  who  wept  and  lamented,  he  said : 
Why  do  ye  weep  and  make  a  tumult  ?  The  child  is 
not  dead,  but  asleep.  Then  they  derided  him,  know- 
ing that  she  was  dead.  But  putting  them  all  out,  ex- 
cept those  who  accompanied  him,  and  entering  the 
chamber  where  the  child  lay,  he  took  her  by  the  hand, 
saying  :  Child,  arise.  Then,  her  spirit  returning,  she 
arose  immediately,  and  walked ;  for  she  was  about 
twelve  years  of  age.  Then  her  parents  were  greatly 
astonished ;  but  having  ordered  some  victuals  for  her, 
he  charged  them  to  tell  no  man  what  had  been  done. 
Notwithstanding,  this  report  went  forth  into  all  that 
country. 

*  Bcausobre  observes,  mournfers  usually  played  on  flutes,  at  the  fu- 
nerals of  children,  and  on  trumpets,  at  those  of  grown  persons:  but 
Newcome  and  Clarke  prefer  the  term  piper.  Every  Jew,  even  the 
poorest,  was  required  to  have  at  least  two  pipers  and  one  mourning 
woman  at  a  funeral.  Chardin  says,  in  the  East,  the  concourse  ot 
people  to  a  funeral,  is  incredible.  Every  body  runs  thither,  both 
poor  and  rich  ;  and  the  former,  more  especially,  make  a  strange 
noise.  Newcome  observes,  tliat  when  the  Jews  supposed  Josephus 
was  slain,  great  lamentations  were  made,  and  many  people  hired  pi- 
pers, who  led  the  way  in  these  lamentations.  Among  the  Jews, 
Oreeks,  and  Romans,  persons  were  hired  to  attend  funerals,  and  be-» 
moan  the  dead,  Jer.  ix.  IJ — 21  ;  xlviii.  36.  Amos  v.  16.  This  prac- 
tice is  still  preserved  among  the  Irish,  who  to  this  day  hire  suitable 
persons,  or  bards,  to  perform  their  Caoinan  or  Ullaloo  at  funerals. 


SECTION  TWENTY-FOURTH. 
Cure  of  Two  Blind  Men,  and  a  Dumb  Demoniac. 
And  as  Jesus  departed  thence  two  blind  men  fol- 
lowed him,  crying:  Son  of  David,*  have  mercy  on  us. 


*  S»n  of  9(md  was  the  peculiar  characteristic  name  of  the  Mo.^- 


94      CURE  OP  TWO  BLIND  MEN,  AND  A  DEMONIAC. 

And  when  he  was  come  to  the  house,  the  blind  men 
approached,  and  Jesus  said  to  them :  Do  you  believe 
that  I  am  able  to  do  this  ?  They  answered ;  Yes, 
Master.  Then  he  touclied  their  eyes,  sayinff:  Ac- 
cordiiig  to  your  faith,  be  it  done  to  you.  And  their 
eyes  were  opened.  Then  Jesus  strictly  charged 
them,  saving  :  See  that  no  man  know.  But  depart- 
ing, they  spread  his  fame  through  all  that  country. 

Now  as  they  departed,  there  was  brought  to  him  a 
dumb  demoniac.  And  the  demon  being  expelled, 
the  dumb  man  spake,  and  the  multitude  wondered, 
saying :  Nothing  like  this  was  ever  seen  in  Israel.* 


siah,  at  that  time  current  among  the  Jews,  who  all  believed  hira  to 
spring  from  the  family  of  David,  John  vii.  42:  for  which  reason, 
these  men  and  all  others,  believing  in  the  divine  mission  of  our  Lord, 
called  him  by  that  appellation,  Matt.  xii.  23  ;  xv,  22  ;  and  xxi.  9, 
This  persuasion  was  founded  on  the  promises  God  made  to  David, 
Ps,  cxxxii.  11;  Acts  ii.  30.  These  men  had  more  correct  views  of 
the  person  and  character  of  Jesus,  than  most  moderns.  They  be- 
lieved him  to  be  the  son  of  David,  a  real  man,  in  nature  like  them- 
selves,  but  did  not  thence  doubt  of  his  ability  to  save.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  the  Christian  world  have  ever  split  on  the  rock  Christ;  and 
the  true  testimony  concerning  him,  has  been  as  much  discredited  by 
Christians  as  Jews.  The  unbelievers  in  the  real  humanity  of  Jesus, 
make  him  a  God,  and  thereby  sink  into  ridicule  the  testimony  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  divine  qualifications  of  the  Messiah:  Whilst  those 
who  J3elieve  hira  only  a  man  as  to  nature,  seldom  reach  the  faith  of 
these  blind  men,  who  believed  in  Christ's  ability  to  save. — Faith  ia 
Jesus  as  mighty  to  save,  in  time  and  eternity,  seems  indispensable 
to  the  very  nature  of  Christianity  ;  and  without  if,  none  can  receive 
or  retain  their  spiritual  eyesight. 

*  The  magnitude  and  multitude  of  Christ's  miracles,  occasioned 
this  reflection.  On  that  very  afternoon,  he  had  raised  the  daughter 
of  Jairus  from  the  state  of  the  dead ;  cured  a  woman  of  an  issue  of 
blood;  restored  sight  to  two  blind  men;  and  cured  a  dumb  demo- 
niac :  and  all  these  things  had  he  performed  in  Capernaum.  Well 
might  the  people  say :  Never  was  the  like  seen  in  Israel!  Blessed 
Jesus,  the  time  of  thy  ministry  was  short !  A  world  of  rebels  would 
not  admit  thy  longer  stay;  but  thy  ceaseless  activity,  and  thine  un- 
limited and  benevolent  exertions  to  save  and  bless  mankind,  will  ren- 
der thv  memory  savnurv  to  the  latest  son  of  Adnm. 


SECTION  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

Jesus  revisits  Nazareth. 

And  when  he  departed  thence,  he  came  into  his  own 
country,  and  his  disciples  accompanied  him.  But  he 
did  not  many  miracles  there,  because  of  their  unbelief  : 
only  that  he  laid  his  hands  on  a  few  sick  persons  and 
healed  them.  But  when  the  sabbath  came,  he  began  to 
teach  in  their  Synagogue,  and  many  of  his  hearers  were 
astonished,  and  said  :  Whence  has  he  this  wisdom, 
and  those  miraculous  powers,  that  such  mighty  deeds 
are  performed  by  Him  ?  Is  not  this  the  carpenter,* 
son  of  a  carpenter  ?  Is  not  his  mother  called  Mary  ? 
His  brethren  James,  and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and  Judas, 
and  his  sisters,  are  they  not  with  us  ?  And  they  took 
offence  at  him. 

*  It  is  very  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  people  of  Nazareth  had 
never  heard  of  Christ's  miraculous  conception,  or  if  the  report  had 
gone  abroad  in  that  city,  Jesus  being  now  thirty  years  old,  so  long  a 
time  might  have  effaced  the  remembrance  of  it,  or  raised  up  a  new 
generation,  who  were  unacquainted  or  unmindful  of  all  that  was  fa- 
vourable to  the  character  of  a  poor  carpenter.  It  was  a  laudible  custom 
among  the  Jews  of  every  rank,  to  teach  their  children  some  ingenious 
art,  not  only  as  a  preventative  of  idleness,  but  a  reserve  in  time  of 
want.  Chasinai  and  Chanilai,  brothers  of  distinguished  rank,  were 
put  with  a  weaver  to  learn  his  trade,  which  Josephus  says,  ivas  no 
disparagement  to  them.  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  dialogue  with  Trypho, 
affirms  that  Christ  assisted  his  supposed  father  in  his  trade  of  a  car- 
penter, and  his  townsmen  here  address  Jesus  as  a  carpenter.  This 
however  could  not  be  any  reproach ;  for  Rabbi  Jose  was  a  currier, 
and  Rabbi  Jochanan  a  shoemaker. 

What  is  most  worthy  of  notice  here,  is  what  these  Nazarenes  say 
of  Joseph's  family,  which  must  be  admitted.  From  this  passage 
it  appears  our  Lord  according  to  the  flesh  had  four  brothers  and  one 
or  more  sisters.  James  is  here  and  elsewhere  called  the  brother  of 
Jesus.  The  mother  of  James  was  the  wife  of  Cleopas  or  Alpheus. 
Luke  6.  15.  John  19.  25.  Matt.  10.  5;  and  27.  56.  Alpheus  and 
Cleopas  were  the  same  person.  Jesus's  mother  was  the  same  as  the  wife 
of  Cleopas,  and  from  Hegesippus  and  Theophilac,  it  appears  that 
Joseph  married  Mary,  wife  of  his  brother  Cleopas,  who  died  childless, 
and  had  James,  Joses,  Simon,  Judas  and  Salome  by  her.  Jesus, 
though  iirst-born,  was  not  called  son  of  Cleopas,  because  miracu- 
lously conceived,  but  James  was  called  son  of  Alpheus.  See  Clarke 
on  Mat.  13.  55  ;  and  John  19.  25. 


96  JESUS    REVISITS    NAZARETH. 

Jesus  said  to  them  :  You  will  doubtless  say  to  me 
this  proverb  :  Physician  heal  thyself  Whatever  we 
have  heard,  being  done  at  Capernaum,  do  also  here  in 
thy  own  country.  Moreover  he  said :  Verily  1  say  to 
you  :  No  prophet  is  acceptable  in  his  own  country. 
But  I  tell  you  of  a  truth  :  xVlany  widows  were  in 
Israel,  in  the  days  of  Elijah,  when  heaven  was  shut 
three  years  and  six  months,  and  there  was  a  great  fam- 
ine over  all  the  land  :  but  to  none  of  them  wa>  Elijah 
sent,  except  to  a  widow  woman  of  Sarepta  in  Sidon, 
Likewise  there  were  many  lepers  in  Israel,  in  the  time 
of  the  prophet  Elisha,  but  none  were  cleansed,  except 
Naaman  the  Syrian 

On  hearing  these  things  all  that  were  in  the  Syna- 
gogue were  tilled  with  wrath,*  and  rising  up,  drove 
him  out  of  the  city,  and  led  him  to  the  brow  of  the 
hill  on  which  their  city  was  built,  in  order  to  cast  him 
down  headlong.  But  passing  through  the  midst  of 
them,  he  departed.     And  leaving  Nazarethf  entirely, 

*  The  peculiar  cause  of  this  people's  rage  at  Jesus,  was  derived 
from  the  scope  of  his  discourse ;  in  which,  by  referring  to  God's 
dealings  with  Israel,  in  the  calamitous  times  of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  in 
which  the  distinguishing  favour  of  heaven  had  appeared  suspended 
towards  Israel,  and  extended  to  the  Gentiles,  in  the  cure  of  Naaman, 
and  preservation  of  the  widow  and  her  son  at  Sarepta,  he  more  than 
intimated  the  rejection  of  the  Jews,  and  the  call  of  the  Gentiles,  to 
incorporation  as  the  covenant  people  and  church  of  God.  Oh  !  how 
deplorable  is  the  state  of  that  people  whose  heaven  must  be  built  on 
the  ruin  of  their  fellow-men  ! 

t  Nazareth  and  Capernaum  were  famous  on  account  of  being  the 
principal  places  of  our  Lord's  residence.  Nazareth,  the  native 
place  of  Jesus,  was  a  small  city  of  Zebulon  in  Galilee,  about  70  miles 
north  of  Jerusalem,  and  10  west  of  Capernaum.  The  site  of  Joseph's 
house,  and  that  of  the  ancient  Synagogue,  where  Jesus  first  taught, 
are  still  shown  to  travellers.  Constantine  the  Great  built  a  magnifi- 
cent temple  here  in  honour  of  Christ ;  and  there  still  remains  a 
Church  for  the  worship  of  the  Greek  Catholics.  But,  Nazareth,  so 
notetl  in  the  Christian  history,  was  never  a  place  of  great  importance, 
nor  good  character.  Lampe  says,  its  inliabitants  were  much  ad- 
dicted to  theft  and  robbery  ;  and  hence,  the  name  of  Nazarene  was 
contemptible.  Their  city  was  built  on  a  hill,  and  surrounded  by 
mountains.     Far  from  being  grateful  to  divine  mercy  for  so  distin- 


JESUS    REVISITS   NAZARETH.  97 

he  came  down  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum*  a  city  of 
Galilee,  on  the  sea  coast,  in  the  borders  of  Zebulon 
and  Naphtali :  and  thus  was  fulfilled  the  saying  of 
Isaiah  the  Prophet :  The  land  of  Zebulon  and  Naph- 
tali, countries  near  the  sea,  by  the  side  of  Jordan, 
Galilee  of  the  Gentiles  ;  the  people  settled  in  dark- 
ness, saw  a  great  light;!  and  on  them  who  dwelt  in  a 
place  of  the  shadow  of  death,  light  arose. 

guished  an  honor  and  exalted  a  privilege,  as  to  be  the  favoured  spot  of 
Jesus'  birth  and  residence  for  thirty  years,  they  treat  his  services  with 
contempt,  on  no  other  account  than  personal  acquaintance,  and 
plainness  of  teaching.  Tliis  was  the  cause  of  the  contempt  mani- 
lested  to  Jesus,  by  the  Nazarenes;  and  still  to  all  the  faithful  minis- 
ters of  Jesus,  by  the  ungodly  and  depraved  Nazarenes  of  modern 
times.  Paul  found  that  in  his  days  some  were  so  reprobate,  as  not 
to  endure  sound  teaching;  and  there  never  was  a  more  awful  proof, 
of  the  abandoned  state  of  a  church  or  people,  than  that  afforded  by 
a  continual  desire  of  novelty,  and  an  abhorcmce  of  plainness  of 
speech,  and  fidelity  in  rebuke :  and  that  minister  who  has  not  suffi- 
cient independence,  to  rebuke  as  well  as  exhort,  is  a  dishonor  and 
snare  to  the  profession. 

The  outrage  of  the  Naznrenes  in  driving  Jesus  from  their  city,  and 
endeavouring  to  throw  him  over  the  precipice,  induced  him  to  aban- 
don them  totally.  The  word,  xataXiTtw,  Mi\t.  iv,  13,  signifies 
to  leave  finally,  abandon  forever;  and  accordingly,  Jesus  never 
favored  them  with  anotiier  visit;  and,  like  Pharaoh,  they  were  con- 
signed to  hardness  of  heart,  indicating  spiritual  abandonment. 

*  Capernaum,  implying  tonm  of  consalatiun^  or  pleasant  villagCy 
IS  supposed  to  have  taken  its  n;ime  from  a  neighbouring  spring  of 
celebrity,  wiiich  watered  the  country  of  Gennesarcth,  Joseph, Wars  iii. 
35.  As  this  city  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  built  by  the  Jews,  after  their  return  from  Baby- 
Ionian  captivity.  It  was'situated  on  the  western  coast  of  the  sea  of 
Galilee,  and  peculiarly  adapted  as  an  advantigeons  residence  for  our 
Lord.  From  the  time  of  calling  Peter,  liis  house  appears  to  have 
been  the  home  of  his  Master.  Here  Matthew  sat  to  receive  the 
custom  arising  from  the  navigation  of  the  Lake.  Here,  and  in  the 
neighbouring  villages,  resided  the  disciples  of  Jesus :  and  the  trade 
of  tliis  city,  and  siiipping  of  the  Lake,  afforded  great  facility  to  our 
Lord's  movements  and  ministry.  Tiie  exaltation  of  this  city  to  heaven 
intimates  its  flourishing  condition,  trade,  wealth,  and  religious  privi- 
leges: and  its  depression  to  Hades,  is  accomplished,  in  the  utter 
desertion  and  extreme  desolation  of  the  place;  there  being,  at  pres- 
ent scarcely  a  solitary  remain  of  that  once  famous  city, 
t  This  country  underwent  very  great  hardships,    during  the  ca- 

13 


SECTION  TWENTY-SIXTH. 

Conversation  with  Nicodemus  at  a  Passover* 

Now  the  passover,  a  Jewish  festival,  being  nigh, 
Jesus  went  up  to  Jerusalem ;  andj  while  he  was  at 
Jerusalem,  during  the  feast,  many  believed  in  his 
namCi  when  they  saw  the  miracles  which  he  per- 
formed. But  Jesus  did  not  trust  himself  to  them, 
because  all  knew  him ;  and  he  needed  no  testimony 
concerning  man  ;  for  he  knew  what  was  in  man. 

Then  a  Pharisee,  named  Nicodemus,  a  ruler  of 
the  Jews,  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  and  said  to  him : 
Master,  we  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from 
God  ;  for  no  man  can  do  the  miracles*  which  thou  art 
doing,  unless  God  be  with  him.  Jesus  answered : 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  to  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  discern  the  reign  of  God.  Nicode- 
mus  replied :    How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he 

L   •     ^_ . ■■ : , : — — - 

lamities  which  befel  the  kingdom  of  Israel  and  Judah :  these  were 
its  times  of  darknesk,  add  of  the  shadow  of  death,  i.  e.  of  extreme 
affliction,  according  to  the  Scripture  style,  wherfein  light  is  used  to 
denote  prosperity,  and  darkness  adversity,  Isa,  xiv.  7,  and  elsewhere. 
The  prophet  had  foretold  that  this  country  should  see  happier  days, 
which  happened  when  Jesus  Christ  preaclied  the  gospel  there. 

*  From  this  passage,  it  is  manifest  that  all  the  Harmonists  are  mis- 
taken ih  the  location  of  this  section.  John  records  only  one  miracle 
of  Christ  before  the  interview  between  Christ  and  Psicodemus,  which 
be  calls  the  beginning  of  Christ's  miracles,  John  ii.  11  ;  but,  this 
being  done  in  a  remote  villnge,  and  before  a  few  witnesses,  could  not 
have  excited  much  attention  at  Jerusalem.  Moreover,  John  states, 
that  the  cure  of  the  officer's  son  was  the  second  miracle  wrought  by 
Christ,  John  iv.  54  ;  but  this  is  related  after  Clirist's  journey  through 
Samaria.  He  also  states,  that  when  Christ  arrived  in  Galilee,  the  Ga- 
lileans received  him  gladly,  having  seen  all  the  things  that  were  done 
by  him  at  Jerbsalem  during  the  feast,  John  iv.  45.  There  remains, 
therefoire,  no  other  method  of  reconciling  the  history  of  John,  nor  the 
testimony  of  the  Evangelists,  but  by  the  alteration  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  facts,  so  as  to  obviate  contradiction. 

The  miracles  of  Christ  were  admitted,  by  Nicodemus,  as  decisive 
testimony  of  a  divine  commission.  They  have  been  always  so  re- 
garded by  the  Christian  world  ;  arid  have  been  doubted,  only  by  a 
few  sceptics,  v/ho  have  beeri  sufficiently  hardy  to  rejectj  as  evidencej 
all  human  testinaoDy,  except  their  own  assertionsi 


GeNVERSATION  WITH  NICODEMUS.  99 

is  old  ?  Can  he  enter  his  mother's  womb,  and  be 
born  a  second  time  ?  Jesus  answered :  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  to  thee,  unless  a  man  be  born  of  water  and 
spirit,*  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  What  is 
born  of  flesh,  is  flesh  ;  and  what  is  born  of  the  Spirit, 
is  spirit.     Wonder  not,  therefore,  at  my  saying  rf  Ye 


*  Born  of  icatcr  and  spirit.  That  is,  liaving  received  the  baptism 
of  water,  and  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Christians  have  long 
disputed  about  the  connexion  of  baptism  and  regeneration,  but  no 
well  instructed  Christian  has  ever  doubled  of  the  utility  and  import-? 
ance  of  both  to  the  Christian  life,  Christ  here  asserts  the  necessity  of 
water  baptism  ;  and,  when  he  gave  the  commission  to  bis  apostles;  he 
connected  baptism  and  faith  as  prerequisites  to  salvation.  Whoso- 
ever, therefore,  denies  or  neglects  baptism  by  water,  retreats  from  the 
Christian  ground  of  hope,  to  wander  in  the  wilderness  of  Deism,  an4 
risk  his  lot  in  fellowship  with  those  who  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  there  be  any  thing  taught  ii>  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  concerning  which  there  remains  not  a  shadow  of  doubt,  it  is 
this — that  induction  into  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  is  through  the  me- 
dium of  an  open  profession  and  avonchment  of  Jehovah  as  our  God, 
and  Jesus,  his  Son,  our  Saviour  and  Redeemer.  Whatever,  thereforCj 
be  the  exceptions  which  divine  favour  vouciisafes  to  youthful  inno- 
cence and  mental  incapacity,  we  may  rest  assured,  that  neglect  of  the 
public  institutions  of  religion,  such  as  baptism,  the  Lord's  supper, 
$nd  private  and  public  worship,  will  meet  an  unexpected  reprimand 
from  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge. 

t  The  conversation  of  our  Lord  with  Nicodemus,  has  given  rise  to 
ifiore  discussion  and  controversy,  than  any  other  passage  of  the  New 
Testament.  This  ( ircumstance,  indeed,  ought  not  to  excite  surprise. 
On  the  interpretation  of  this  passage  depend  the  most  important  de- 
cisions, which  can  engage  the  attention  of  a  Christian.  The  ques- 
tions how,  or  when,  we  are  first  admitted  into  covenant  with  God — 
the  necessity  of  the  means  of  grace — the  efficacy  and  meaning  of  the^ 
sacraments — witli  many  more  interesting  considerations,  are  essen- 
tially connected  with  the  interpretation  given  to  the  conversation  of 
our  Lord  witli  one  of  the  heads  of  the  Jewish  sanhedrim.  The  occa- 
sion was  sucli  as  to  justify  the  expectation  that  some  new  and  im- 
portant doctrine  would  be  revealed  to  the  world  ;  suited  alike  to  the 
state  of  mind,  the  condition  of  the  inquirer,  and  the  sublimity  of  the 
Ivlessiairs  character  and  office.  This  doctrine  was  the  absolute  ner 
cessity  of  regeneration,  or  being  born  again. 

One  chief  cause  of  the  difficulty  which  has  attended  the  interpre- 
tation of  this  passage,  is,  the  apparent  abruptness  of  our  Lord's  ad- 
dress. Some  suppose  that  a  part  of  the  conversation  is  omitted. 
Others,  that  our  Lord  reproved  the  tiniidity  of  the  Jewish  teacherj,  by 


100  CONVERSATION  WITH  NICODEMUS. 

must  be  born  again.  The  wind  blows  where  it 
pleases,  and  thou  hearest  its  sound,  but  knowest  not 
whence  it  comes,  nor  whether  it  goes  ;  so  is  every 

declaring,  immediately  on  the  attempt  of  Nicodemus  to  begin  a  con- 
versation, that  whoever  would  be  his  disciple  must  come  to  his  bap- 
tism, and  publicly  profess  his  relifjion.  Others,  that  our  Lord  per- 
ceived at  once  the  object  of  Nicodemus'  visit,  that  it  was  to  inquire 
concerning  the  Messiah's  kingdom  ;  and,  in  reference  tw  this,  imirie- 
diately  began  his  conversation,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again.'' 
Another  difficulty  arises  from  the  surprise  of  Nicodoaius  at  the  men- 
tion of  the  new  birth  ;  whereas  this  was  a  subject  with  which  he 
must  have  been  well  acquainted,  as  the  Jews  were  accustomed  to  caU 
their  proselytes,  after  they  had  l)een  ba[)tizc(),  "  new  born  children." 
On  whatever  account  our  Lord  thus  addressed  Nicodemus,  the  pur- 
port of  his  conversation  is  evident.  lie  relates  the  manner  in  which 
a  man  must  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  On  such  a  subject  the  Jewish 
leader  must  have  entertained  tl»e  notions  which  were  common  to  his 
countrymen.  It  will  be  necess;iry,  then,  to  understand  thoroughly 
the  object  which  our  Lord  had  in  view,  and  to  ascertain  what  were 
the  previous  ideas  of  Nicodemus,  respecting  that  change  by  which  h 
man  was  admitted  into  covenant  with  God. 

The  Jews,  as  well  as  the  Christians,  believed  in  the  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  as  firmly  and    implicitly  as  the  most  humble  and 
orthodox  Christian  ;  though  no  mistake  is  more  common,  than  the 
representing  their  belief  in  its  influences  as  a  new  doctrine,  unknown 
till  the  days  of  the  apostles.     The  prayer  of  David,  in  the  fifty-first 
Psalm,  was  the  uniform  language  of  the  pious  Jews  ;  and  the  most  de- 
vout Christian  could  not  require  a  more  fervent  or  expressive  prayer, 
for  the  continued  influencos  and  daily  renovation  of  the  spiritual  life, 
bv  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.     It  is  certain  also,   and  Nicodemus  must 
have  been  assured,  that  while  the  Spirit  of  God  was  the  agent  which 
conferred  the  blessing  on  the  worshipjiers  of  God,  yet  it  had  pleased 
God  that  external  ordinances  should  be  appointed  under  the  law,  as 
the  means  by  which  strength  of  resolution,  increased  faith,   true  re- 
pentance, and  all  the  grnces  of  spiritual  life  should  be  iniparted.     It 
was  then,  as  now,   that  he  who  bent  his  knees  before  God  in  private, 
offering  up  the  prayer  of  the  heart,  left  his   chamber  a  better  man 
than  if  the  prayer  had  not  been  offered.     Obedience  produces  bless- 
ings.    He  who  attends  to  the  means  of  grace  will  become  a  better 
Christian  than  he  who  hopes  for  the  mercy  of  God,  and  disregards 
his  ordinances.     These  truths  must  liave  been  known  and  believed, 
though  they  were  disregarded  by  every  Jew.     What,   then,  was  the 
opinion  of  Nicodemus  respecting  the  beginning  of  this  spiritual  life, 
and  of  a  new  birth,  by  which  men  were  admitted  into  the  kingdom 
of  God  ? 

The  Jews  believed  that  Abraham,  before  his  call,  was  an  idolater. 


eONVERSATION  WITH  NICODEMUS.  101 

one  who  is  born  of  the  Spirit.  Nicodemus  answer- 
ing, said  to  him :  How  can  these  things  be  ?  Jesus 
said  :  Art  thou  the  teacher  of  Israel,  and  knowest  not 


but  that  when  God  called  him  from  his  fathers  house,  it  was  said  to 
him,  I  will  make  thee  a  new  creature;  that  if  any  one  shall  persuade 
another  to  embrace  the  true  religion,  it  is  as  if  he  had  created  him 
anew;  that  a  |>ricst  was  made  a  new  creature,  by  the  oil  which  was 
poured  upon  his  head,  at  his  inauguration  into  his  office  ;  that  a  man 
who  is  newly  born,  does  not  immediately  receive  the  Spirit  from 
above  until  he  is  circumcised.  But  when  he  is  circumcised,  the  Spirit 
is  poured  upon  him  with  a  heavenly  effusion.  When  he  has  become 
a  youth,  and  studies  the  law,  a  greater  effusion  is  poured  out  upon 
him.  When  he  observes  the  precepts  of  the  law,  a  greater  effusion 
is  poured  out  upon  him.  Wiien  he  is  established  in  life,  and  trains 
up  his  family  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  then  he  becomes  in  all  things 
a  perfect  man. 

These  things  were  well  known  to  Nicodemus.  He  must  have  been 
well  acquainted  also  with  the  Jewish  custom  of  admitting  proselytes 
into  the  communion  of  the  Jewish  Church  by  baptism  ;  and  that,  in 
so  admitting  them,  they  were  called  new  creatures.  Wlience,  then, 
proceeded  his  surprise  at  the  language  of  our  Lord  ?  Ye  must  be  born 
again  ;  unless  a  man  be  born  of  water,  and  of  the  spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Nicodemus,  like  the  rest  of  his  countrymen,  was  looking  for  the 
JMessiah,  or  the  prophet  who  should  precede  him;  and,  as  the  learned 
Lightfoot  observes,  "  expected  that  Christ  would  take  the  Jewish 
people  as  they  were;  and  they,  without  any  inward  change  of  mind 
and  heart  at  all,  should  be  translated  into  an  outward  changed  condi- 
tion of  happiness  and  earthly  glory,  as  much  as  they  could  desire  or 
imagine.  No,  said  our  Lord,  there  is  more  required  of  him,  and  in 
him,  that  desires  to  see  and  partake  of  the  happiness  of  that  kingdom, 
and  those  days:  he  must  suffer  a  change  in  himself,  and  in  his  princi- 
ples, and  be  as  if  he  were  born  anew."  Such,  says  the  learned  Light- 
foot,  is  the  connexion  of  this  speech  of  Christ,  with  that  of  Nicodemus. 

The  meaning  of  the  speech  of  our  Lord  must  be  collected  further 
from  the  difn^reiice  between  the  kingdom  of  heaven  expected  by 
Nicodemus,  and  the  spiritual  kingdom  which  Christ  came  to  establish. 
Perceiving  the  mingled  feelings  of  doubt  and  veneration  with  which 
the  Jewish  senator  approached  him,  he  immediately,  in  contradiction 
to  the  prevailing  error,  assures  Nicodemus  that  his  kingdom  was  not 
of  the  nature  he  supposed,  and  that  it  was  necessary  that  a  man 
should  be  born  again  of  water,  and  of  the  spirit,  to  become  a  partaker 
of  its  privileges.  As  men  were  admitted  into  the  Church  of  Moses 
by  circumcision,  so  shall  they  be  admitted  into  the  new  dispensation 
by  baptism.  As  by  the  one  rite  a  human  being  is- taken  into  covenant 
with  God,  and  is  considerfid  in  a  new  relationship,  so  by  the  athet 


102  CONVERSATION  WITH  NICODEMUS, 

these  things  ?  Verily,  verily,  I  say  to  thee,  we  speak 
what  we  know,  and  testify  what  we  have  seen  ;  but 
ye  receive  not  our  testimony.*     If  I  have  told  you 

■— ■ ■ r 

rite  the  same  privileges  shall  be  given  in  the  new  economy  You 
ajso,  (v.  3.)  who  are  Jews,  must,  like  tlie  proselytes  whom  you  re- 
ceive, and  the  children  you  initiate,  you  also  must  be  born  again. 
This  was  the  doctrirje  Nicodemus  could  not  comprehend  He  could 
not  suppose  that  a  Jew,  who  had  already  been  received  into  covenant 
M'ith  God,  was  to  be  considered  as  a  stranger,  and  he  therefore  inter- 
preted the  words  literally,  (v.  4.)  To  rectify  the  error,  our  Lord  re- 
peats the  words,  with  the  addition.  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water, 
and  of  the  spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  You 
also,  though  a  master  and  teacher  in  Israel,  must  not  hope  to  partake 
of  the  privileges  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  unless  you  enrol  yourself 
among  the  number  of  my  disciples,  be  baptized  in  my  name,  and  re- 
ceive the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. —  Townsend's  Harmony. 

*  In  this  highly  interesting  discourse,  our  blessed  Master  clearly 
teaches  iJirce  all-important  and  solemn  truths,  which  lie  at  the  very 
root  of  Christianity;  and,  without  which,  the  religion  of  Jesus  sinks 
into  an  ineflicient  system  of  ethics,  and  loses  all  its  characteristic 
energy  and  excellence. 

1.  17ie  natural  man  is  altogether  unfit  for  the  felloivship  and  en- 
joyment of  his  God.  This  is  clearly  implied  in  the  language  of 
Christ  to  Nicodemus — You  must  he  born  again.  If  all  men  were  fit 
for  the  enjoyment  of  Christ's  kingdom,  this  language  would  bo  wholly 
inapplicable  and  unmeaning.  But  the  awful  truths — that  all  have 
sinned — that  the  natural  man  perceives  not  the  things  of  God — that 
the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  to  him,  and  that  no  man  comes  to  Christ 
except  the  Father  draw  him — rivet  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity 
and  alienation  from  God,  by  wicked  works,  in  the  minds  of  all  who 
have  ever  studied  in  the  school  of  experience,  or  been  taught  the 
rudiments  of  Christianity. 

2.  A  spiritual  change  must  he  lorought  in  the  human  soid,  hyiohich 
the  carnal  mind  is  subdued,  and  the  affections  and  desires  sublinm'l 
and  assimilated  to  the  tvill  of  the  Deity.  This  is  the  great  lesson 
Jesus  taught  Nicodemus,  and  of  which  he,  though  a  teacher  of  Israel, 
was  so  ignorant.  Unbelievers,  in  every  age,  affect  to  be  very 
ignorant  of  a  superintending  Providence,  and  every  thing  that  seems 
to  them  mysterious  in  religion  ;  and  are  ready  to  exclaim,  in  the  very 
words  of  Nicodemus — How  can  these  things  be?  But  the  Bible 
speaks  an  unequivocal  language  on  this  momentous  subject ;  and, 
fjom  this  conversation  of  Christ  with  Nicodemus,  as  well  as  from 
many  other  parts  of  the  sacred  volume,  we  learn  that  every  man 
must  have  two  births;  one  from  earth,  the  other  from  heaven  :  with- 
out the  first,  he  cannot  sec  or  enter  into  this  v.orld  ;  without  the  last. 
he  shall  never  behold  nor  enjoy  the  glories  and  blessings  oi  Chnst"? 


CONVERSATION  WITH  NICODEMUri.  lO-!? 

Earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not,  how  will  ye  be- 
lieve, when  I  tell  you  heavenly  things  ?  No  man  has 
ascended  into  heaven,  but  he  who  came  from  heaven, 


kingdom  on  earth,  nor  be  prepared  to  enter  into  the  joys  of  heaven, 
and  partake  of  tlie  fellowship  of  the  saints  in  light.  Nicodenius,  and 
the  Jews  generally,  had  some  notion  of  the  second  birth,  but,  like! 
many  Christians,  they  put  acts  of  proselytism  in  its  stead,  and 
tancied  that  it  consisted  in  professions  and  ceremonies  ;  but  our  Lord 
would  lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  this  barren  tree,  and,  by  the  repeti- 
tion of  Amen,  or  Verily,  which  a  Jew  regarded  equal  to  a  solemn 
oath,  he  assures  Nicodemus  and  all  mankind,  that  except  a  man  be 
born  of  spirit,  as  well  as  Water,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God. 
When  John  came  baptizing  with  xVater,  he  gave  the  Jews  the  plainest 
intimations,  that  they  should  look  for  the  baptism  of  the  spirit,  of 
which  water  was  a  significant  emblem.  He  who  receives  not  this 
baptism,  has  neithfer  right  nor  title  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Nor 
can  all  the  births  of  earth  ever  fit  a  soul  for  heaven.  Like  will  pro- 
duce its  like.  As  are  the  earthy,  such  will  be  the  sons  of  the  earthy. 
What  is  born  of  flesh,  is  flesh  ;  therefore,  we  nuist  be  born  of  the 
spirit,  in  order  to  be  spiritual  ;  and  born,  av(^Osv,  from  above,  in 
«rder  to  ascend  above  earth  to  heaven. 

3.  None  can  knoio,  of  tinder staiid  this  celestial  change,  but  by  its 
effects;  and  the  influence  it  exerts  on  the  Jcetings  and  character  of 
lis  subjects.  Our  Lord  illustrates,  by  a  similitude,  this  insportant  de- 
claration. The  wind,  which  is  air  in  motion,  carinot  be  seen,  nor  its 
rise,  progress,  and  fall,  distinctly  traced,  but  we  can  hear  its  sound, 
perceive  its  breezes,  and  have  full  assurance  of  its  existence,  from  its 
eflfects  and  operations ;  though  this  assurance  depends  entirely  on 
our  arguments,  a  posteriori ;  just  as  we  prove  the  existence  of  God 
from  the  things  he  has  made.  Just  so  it  is  with  the  second  birth. 
The  great  Agent  is  invisible.  His  manner  of  operation  is  beyond 
our  discovery  ;  but  the  reality  of  his  operation  is  known  by  the 
eflects  produced  on  the  disposition  and  life  of  the  regenerate.  Hence 
the  unbeliever  doubts  of  all  he  hears,  because  he  depends  on  the  tes- 
timony of  others.  No  wonder  that  the  unregenerate  should  turn 
Deist,  and  live  Atheist  in  the  world,  because  his  earthy,  dead  soul,  is 
insensible  to  all  the  movements  of  the  celestial  world.  Our  blessed 
Master  expressly  declares,  that  unless  a  man  be  born  again,  or  front 
above,  he  cannot  see  or  discern  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and  the  apos- 
tle assigns  the  reason  :  because  it  is  spiritually  discerned,  1  Con 
ii.  14.  So  far,  therefore,  is  the  unregenerate  man  from  entering,  of 
enjoying  the  kingdom  of  God,  that  it  has  not  come  within  his  view. 
He  can  never  have  even  a  Pisgah's  prospect  of  the  land  of  promise,  till 
God  kindle  the  hallowed  fire  on  the  altar  of  his  heart ;  and  then,  and 
not  till  then,  will  the  incense  of  praise  ascend  from  a  grateful  soul  to 
a  pardoning  God. 


104  CONVERSATION  VVItH  NlCOt>JiMUS» 

the  Son  of  man,  who  was  in  heaven.*  And,  as  Moses 
placed  on  high  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  so  must 
the  Son  of  man  be  set  on  high.  For  God  so  loved 
the  world,  as  to  give  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever beheves  in  him,  may  not  perish,  but  obtain 
everlasting  hfe.  For  God  sentf  not  his  Son  into  the 
world,  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that  the  world 
through  him  might  be  saved*  He,  who  believes  in 
him,  shall  not  be  condemned,  but  the  unbeliever  is 
already  condemned,  for  not  believing  in  the  name  of 
the  only-begotten  Son  of  God.  And  this  is  the  con- 
demnation :  The  light  came  into  the  world,  and  men 
preferred  darkness  to  the  light,  because  their  deeds 
were  evih  For  he  who  does  evil,  hates  the  light,  and 
shuns  it,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  detected :  but  he^ 
who  obeys  the  truth,  comes  to  the  light,  that  his 
works  may  appear  to  have  been  performed  by  God. 

Nicodemus  was  a  Pharisee,  and  doubtless,  as  a  teacher  of  Israel, 
and  a  member  of  the  grand  sanhedrim,  he  walked  in  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord  blameless.  He  might,  therefore,  like  thousands  in 
modern  times,  think  it  very  strange,  if  not  absurd,  that  Christ  should 
speak  to  him  of  a  new  birth.  But,  to  use  the  cogent  language  of  Dr. 
Clarke  on  the  passage,  without  the  baptism  or  regeneration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  reader  may  take  Jesus  Christ's  word  for  it,  that  in 
liis  present  state  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  kingdom 
of  God  is  holy  and  spiritual,  and  a  spiritual  regeneration  is  therefore 
essentially  necessary  to  prepare  the  soul  for  a  holy  and  spiritual  king- 
dom. May  all.  therefore,  hear  and  understand  the  language  of  Christ. 
Yc  must  be  horn  from  above. 

*  To  ascend  into  heaven,  or  he  in  heaven,  is  a  figurative  expression^ 
signifying  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  tiie  mysteries  of  God's  king- 
dom, Deut.  XXX.  13;  Fsa.  Ixxiii.  17;  Prov.  xxx.  4 ;  John  i.  18; 
Rom.  xi.  34.  I  have  translated  tor,  was,  agreeably  to  John  ix.  25. 
Dr.  Clarke  supposes  our  Lord  used  the  phrase,  no  man  has  ascended 
into  heaven,  to  correct  a  notion  among  the  Jews,  that  Moses  had 
ascended  into  heaven  in  order  to  get  the  law,  I  should  rather  think 
not — but,  that  Christ  uses  the  negative  in  the  comparative  sense,  im- 
plying, that  no  man  had  obtained  so  great  acquaintance  with  divine 
things,  as  the  Son  of  man. 

t  God  sent  not  his  Son  to  condemn  the  world.  Limited  Jews 
imagined  the  Messiah  would  destroy  the  Gentile  nations,  but  God 
had  decreed  otherwise  ;  and  loving  the  world,  the  whole  world,  sent 
his  Son  to  save  mankind  ;  and,  if  ever  the  purpose  of  God,  and  the 


SECTION  TWENTV-SEVENTH. 

Jesus  walks  in  the  Corn-fields. 

About  that  time,  being  second-first*  Sabbath,  Jesus 
walked  through  the  corn-fields ;  and  his  disciples, 
being  hungry,  began  to   pluck  the  ears  of  corn,    and 


object  of  Christ's  mission,  be  accomplished  ,  an  innumerable  mul- 
titude out  of  all  nations,  shall  be  glad  in  his  salvation.  Notwith- 
standing the  unbeliever  is  condemned,  and  cannot  enjoy  life,  or 
salvation,  unless  God  redeem  him  from  darkness  and  spiritual  death. 
But,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Most  High  God,  millions  of  con- 
demned unbelievers  have  been  saved  from  unbelief  and  wrath,  and 
even  now  chant  redeeming  love. 

*  Second-first  is  a  literal  translation  of  the  Greek  ^vre^ov^Mray 
and  the  usual  rendering  of  the  Latin  versions.  Notwithstanding  the 
meaning  is  very  obscure,  and  this  phrase  being  found  nowhere  in  the 
New  Testament,  except  in  this  place,  the  learned  have  been  very 
much  divided  about  its  signification.  Three  explanations  of  the 
phrase  have'enlisted  their  favourite  advocates  : — 1 .  Grotius  and  Ham- 
mond say,  the  Jews  called  the  Sabbaths  of  the  three  great  festivals, 
prime,  or  first  Sabbaths;  but,  as  the  passover  began  their  ecclesias- 
tical year,  the  passover  Sabbath  was  called  theirs/,  the  Sabbath  of 
the  pentecost  the  secondfiirst,  and  the  Sabbath  of  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles the  third-first  Sabbath.  But  very  cogent  objections  can  be 
urged  against  this  opinion  ;  for,  supposing  it  were  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath of  Nisan,  or  of  the  passover,  as  Clemens  of  Alexandria  would 
have  it,  that  Christ  walked  in  the  corn-fields,  the  disciples  would 
have  transgressed  two  laws  by  plucking  the  ears  of  corn  :  first,  a 
breach  of  the  law,  which  enjoined  the  observation  of  the  Sabbath ; 
and,  second,  a  violation  of  the  law,  prohibiting  the  collecting  of 
grain  before  the  wave-sheaf  was  offered  on  the  next  day  after  the 
leastof  unleavened  bread,  or  sixteenth  of  Nisan,  Levit.  xxiii.  14,  15; 
but  the  charge  of  the  Pharisees  extended  only  to  profanation  of  the 
Sabbath.  Nor  could  the  time  be  the  Sabbath  of  pentecost,  for  then 
the  harvest  was  fullygathered,  and  the  first  loaves  offered,  in  thanks- 
giving to  the  God  of  harvest,  for  the  favour  conferred  by  the  boun- 
ties of  the  season.  2.  Nor  is  it  probable  that  the  opinion  of  Epi- 
phanius  and  Beza  is  more  tenable  ;  for  had  it  been  on  the  last  day, 
or  Sabbath  of  the  passover,  it  is  not  likely  that  Christ  and  his  disci- 
ples should  have  left  the  feast,  on  the  last  and  great  day,  to  proceed 
on  their  return  to  Galilee.  Notwithstanding  this  second  opinion  is 
much  more  reasonable  than  the  first ;  for,  as  the  Jews  counted  the 
Sabbaths  from  the  passover  to  pentecost,  the  Sabbath  next  to  the 
commencement  of  the  passover  would  be  called  the  first  Sabbath, 
and  tlie  seventh  or  last  day  of  the  passover  happening  within  a  day 
or  two,  might  be  called  second-first.     3.  Scaliger,  Lightfoot,  Casau 


106  JESUS    WALKS    IN    THE    CORN-FIELDS. 

eat  them,  after  rubbing  them  in  their  hands.  But 
some  of  the  Pharisees  observing,  said  :  Why  do  ye 
that  which  is  unlawful*  to  be  done  on  the  Sabbath? 
Jesus  answered  tf  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did, 
when  he  and  his  companions  were  hungry  ?     How  he 


bon,  Whitby,  Beausobre  and  L'Enfant,  seem  to  have  attained  the 
truth  on  this  subject,  and  explain  the  phrase  thus  : — The  first  day  of 
the  passover  was  a  Sabbath,  Exod.  xii.  1 6 ;  Levit.  xxiii.  7.  The 
morning  after  the  Sabbath,  the  priest  offered  i\\^  first-fruits,  invok- 
ing God's  blessing  on  the  harvest,  and  his  leave  to  collect  it.  From 
that  day  they  counted  seven  Sabbaths  to  the  pentecost,  Levit.  xxiii. 
15  ;  and  for  ease  in  remembering,  they  called  the  first  Sabbath  after 
the  second  day  of  unleavened  bread,  second-first,  and  the  second 
Sabbath,  second-second ;  meaning  the  j^rs^,  second,  third  Sabbath  af- 
ter the  wave -offering. 

*  Among  the  principal  works  forbidden  on  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  are 
enumerated  ploughing,  sowing,  reaping,  binding,  thrashing,  winnow- 
ing, cleaning,  and  grinding.  The  Pharisees  reasoned  thus  : — It  is 
forbidden  to  reap,  or  to  gather  the  ears  of  corn,  for  this  is  a  sort  of 
reaping,  Exod.  xxxiv.  21 ;  therefore,  these  men  break  the  Sabbath. 
Again  it  is  forbidden  to  grind,  but  these  men  rub  the  ears  of  the  corn, 
which  is  a  kind  of  grinding ;  therefore,  they  profane  the  Sabbath. 
The  law  of  the  Sabbath  was  so  strict,  that  the  Jews  were  not  allowed 
to  kindle  a  fire,  or  dress  any  victuals ;  therefore,  they  were  obliged 
to  prepare  such  things  as  were  needed  on  Friday  afternoon,  which 
was  called  the  preparation.  Their  Sabbath  began  at  sunset, 
the  usual  time  of  the  end  and  beginning  of  the  Jewish  day.  As 
soon,  therefore  as  the  sun  was  going  down  on  Friday,  so  far  as  to 
shine  only  on  the  tops  of  hills,  they  lighted  their  lamps.  So  super- 
stitious was  the  regard  paid  to  the  Sabbath  by  the  Jews,  that  they 
would  not  defend  themselves  from  a  public  enemy  on  the  Sabbath,  as 
appears  from  the  history  of  their  wars  with  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
and  the  Romans.  To  sanctify  the  Sabbath,  was  to  do  no  work 
thereon  ;  and,  to  profane  the  Sabbath,  was  to  do  any  work  during 
that  sacred  day  of  rest.  An  exception  w^as  allowed  for  the  priests, 
who  lighted  the  holy  fire,  and  slew  the  sacrifice,  which  would  have 
been  a  profanation  of  the  Sabbath,  had  not  these  tilings  been  en- 
joined by  God ;  hence  the  Jews  said — There  is  no  Sabbath  in  the 
temple,  Numb,  xxviii.  9.  See  the  Introductions  of  Beausobre  and 
Lamy. 

t  Our  Lord  excuses  his  disciples  by  three  pertinent  and  conclusive 
arguments:  I.  Necessity — They  were  hungry;  and  that  God,  who 
preferred  mercy  to  sacrifice,  would  yield  to  the  setting  aside  of  an 
arbitrary  injunction,  for  the  practice  of  mercy  or  benevolence  in  a 
case  so  urgent.  2.  Precedent — David  and  his  companions,  when 
hungry,  entered  the  house  of  God,  or  court  of  the  tabernacle,  kept  at 


JESUS  WALKS  IN    THE  CORN-FIELDS.  1(!)7 

entered  the  house  of  God,  and  ate  the  shew-bread, 
and  gave  also  to  his  companions  ;  which  ought  not  to 
be  eaten,  except  by  priests  alone  ?  Or,  have  ye  not 
read  in  the  law,  that  the  priests  in  the  temple  pro- 
fane the  Sabbath,  and  are  blameless  ?  But  I  tell  you, 
a  greater  than  the  temple  is  here.  And  had  ye 
known  what  means  :  I  prefer  mercy  to  sacrifice,  ye 
would  not  have  condemned  the  innocent.  The  Sab- 
bath was  instituted  for  the  benefit  of  man,  but  man 
was  not  made  on  account  of  the  Sabbath ;  therefore, 
the  Son  of  man*  is  ruler  even  of  the  Sabbath. 

Nob,  in  the  house  of  Abimelecli,  cuid  ate  of  the  twelve  loaves  pre- 
sented to  the  Lord,  as  an  offering  every  Sabbath ;  and  pljced  on  the 
golden  table,  were  hence  called  loaves  of  the  presence,  1  S-iin  xxi.  6; 
Exod.  xxix  32;  Levit.  viii,  31 ;  xxiv.  6.  S.  Authority — The  priests, 
in  the  temple,  performing  the  service  prescribed  by  the  law  of 
Moses,  were  held  blameless  on  account  of  the  comm  iiidaieur ;  there- 
fore, as  Moses,  by  the  authority  of  God,  made  this  exemption  on  be- 
half of  the  priests,  so  Jesus,  possessing  a  still  higher  authority  ^md 
commission,  had  a  still  greater  right  to  make  exception  on  behalf  of 
his  disciples,  when  actually  engaged  in  attending  on  the  Son  of  man, 
in  his  ministry,  as  the  priests  served  God,  in  the  temple.  Moreover, 
this  Son  of  man,  having  come  to  establish  a  new  dispensation,  had  a 
right  to  dispense  with,  and  abrogate  whatever,  in  tiie  Mosaic  ritual, 
was  unfavourable  to  the  manifestation  and  execution  of  his  glorious 
and  gracious  dispensation  of  mercy  and  benevolence  ;  therefore,  this 
Son  of  man  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  by  authority  ;  and  every  son 
of  man  is  ruler  of  the  Sabbath  by  necessity. 

*  Some  have  supposed  that  the  phrase,  Son  of  man,  implies  man  in 
general ;  but  this  interpretation  is  very  lax,  and  w<Mild  insinuate  that 
man  might  dispose  of  the  Sabbath  according  to  his  pleasure,  which, 
if  admitted,  would  soon  terminate  the  observation  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
the  practice  of  religious  duties.  Jehovah  instituted  the  Sabbith,  not 
only  as  a  type  of  that  rest  which  remains  for  the  people  of  God,  but 
as  a  means  of  promoting  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  man- 
kind: and  true  religion  never  will  impede  the  execution  of  his  bene- 
volent design.  God  requires  nothing  from  man,  but  what  tends  to 
the  happiness  and  advantage  of  man.  In  condescension  to  man's 
wants,  he  prohibited  the  labour  of  nran  and  beast  on  that  day,  that 
proper  and  suitable  seasons  of  rest  and  refreshment  might  be  afforded 
to  the  body,  and  spiritual  vigour  and  nourishment  imparted  to  the 
soul.  The  obligation,  therefore,  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath,  is  bind- 
ing on  all  that  know  God,  and  nothing  but  spiritual  death,  profanity, 
and  destruction,  can  attend  the  wilful  neglect  of  God's  holy  command- 
ment to  sanctify  the  Sabbath. 


SECtlON  TWENTY.:eiGHTH. 

Cure  of  a  Withered  Hand. 

And  departing  thence,  he  entered  into  the  syna- 
gogue on  another  Sabbath,  and  taught.  And,  lo! 
there  was  a  man  whose  right  hand  was  withered ; 
and  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  mahciously  watch- 
ed* him,  with  the  design  of  obtaining  an  accusa- 
tion against  him,  if  he  should  heal  on  the  Sab- 
bathi  But  knowing  their  thoughts,  he  said  to  the 
man  whose  hand  was  withered :  Arise,  and  stand  in 
the  midst.  And  when  he  arose  and  stood,  they  asked 
Jesus :  Whether  it  be  lawful  to  healf  on  the  Sabbath  ? 
Jesus  answered  :  I  would  also  ask  you.  Which  is  law- 
ful on  the  Sabbath,  to  do  good,  or  to  do  evil  ?  to  save 
life,  01*  to  destroy  ?  But  they  were  silent.  Then, 
looking  round  on  them  with  anger,  being  grieved  at 
the  hardness!  of  their  hearts,  he  said :  What  man 

*- 1 — . . : - 

*  The  original  word,  rtapetr^paw,  implies,  to  watch  maliciously,  or 
with  an  evil  intention,  M;uk  iii.  2  ;  Luke  xiv.  1  ;  xx.  20.  Raphe- 
lius  adduces  many  authorities  to  prove  that  it  signifies,  to  observe 
privately  and  insidiously  what  another  does.  The  context  fully 
proves  this  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  term ;  and  shows  the  base  and 
treacherous  conduct  of  the  Pharisees. 

t  The  practice  of  medicine  among  the  Jews  was  chiefly  confined 
to  the  priests,  who  thought  it  profane  to  practise  the  healing  art  on 
the  Sabbath.  One  o^  the  decisions  of  the  School  of  Schammai 
ivas — Let  none  console  the  sicJk,  or  visit  the  niourner  on  the  Sabbath. 
It  Was  principally  against  such  decisions  oiir  Lord  directed  his  re- 
proof; for  the  School  of  Hillel  had,  in  sonle  respects,  decided  other- 
wise ;  and  it  was  allowed  to  prepare  medicine,  or  perform  such  other 
services  as  were  absolutely  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  life. 

I  For  hardness,  or  rather  callousness,  the  Codex  Bezce,  and  four  of 
the  Itala,  read  deadness;  the  Vulgate,  and  some  of  the  Itala,  blind- 
ness.  Join  all  these  together,  and  they  will  scarcely  express  the  ful- 
ness of  this  people's  wretchedness.  By  a  long  resistance  to  the 
grace  and  Spirit  of  God,  their  hearts  had  become  callous,  they  were 
past  feeling.  By  a  long  opposition  to  the  light  of  God,  they  became 
dark  in  their  understanding,  were  blinded  by  the  deceitfulness  of 
sin;  and  thus  were  pastse&ing.  By  a  long  continuance  in  the  prac- 
tice of  every  evil  work,  they  were  cut  off  from  union  with  God, 
the  fountain  of  spiritual  life  ;  and  becoming  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  they  were  incapable  of  any  resurrection,  but  through  a  miracu" 
lou3  power  of  God. 


tURE  OF  A  WITHERED  ilASH*  M 

aiAoVig  you  having  a  sheep,  if  it  fall  into  a  pit  on  the 
Sabbath,  will  not  take  hold  of  it,  and  lift  it  out  ?  How 
much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  ?  Therefore, 
it  is  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  Sabbath.  Then  said  he 
to  the  man :  Stretch*  out  thy  hand  ;  and,  on  doing 
so,  his  hand  Was  restored  sound  as  the  other. 

Then  the  Pharisees,  full  of  madness,  went  out  and 
held  a  council  with  the  Herodians,t  how  they  might 
destroy  him.  But  when  Jesus  knew,  he  journeyed 
thence  towards  the  sea.  And  having  arrived  in  Gali- 
lee, the  Galileans  received  him,  having  seen  all  that 
he  did  at  Jerusalem,  during  the  festival ;  for  they  a! so 
had  attended  the  festival.  And  great  multitudes  fol- 
lowed him  from  Jerusalem,  Judea,  Idumea,  Galilee, 
and  the  banks  of  the  Jordan :  hkewise  a  vast  multi- 


*  This  man  might  have  reasoned  thus — "  Lord,  my  hand  is  wither- 
ed, how  then  can  I  stretch  it  out  ?  Make  it  whole  first,  and  after- 
ward I  will  do  as  thou  commandest  ?"  This  may  appear  reasonahle, 
but  in  his  case  it  would  have  been  foolishness.  At  the  command  of 
the  Lord,  he  made  the  effort,  and,  in  making  it,  the  cure  was  effect- 
ed !  Faith  disregards  apparent  impossibilities,  where  there  is  a  com- 
mand and  promise  of  God. 

t  The  Herodians  derived  their  name  from  Herod  the  Great,  and 
were  distinguished  by  their  efforts  to  assimilate  Judaism  to  the  reli- 
gion of  pagan  Rome.  Herodianism  and  modern  Hobbism  agree  in 
one  leading  principle,  that  religion  oioes  its  sanction  to  the  secular 
power  i  and  the  mandate  of  the  sovereign  is  the  supreme  rule  of  thd 
conscience.  Drusius  informs  us,  that  King  Herod  enticed  a  great 
number  of  Greeks  to  become  his  followers  ;  and  of  them,  and  others^ 
erected  a  new  sect  called  by  his  name;  This  sect  would  of  course 
magnify  their  patron,  and  their  flattery  gave  rise  to  an  opinion 
among  some  of  the  learned,  both  ancients  and  moderns,  that  the 
Herodians  believed  Herod  to  be  the  Messiah.  Accordingly,  Jerome^ 
in  his  commentary  on  Matt.  xxii.  l6,  says,  some  of  the  Latins,  in  his 
time,  taught,  that  the  Herodians  believed  in  Herod  as  the  Messiah. 
The  Syriac  version  renders  the  word,  Iterodians,  by  a  periphrasis. 
Servants  of  Herod.  Hence  Leusdeo,  Fabritius,  Basnage,  and 
Carpsovius,  consider  the  Herodians,  not  a  sect  in  religion,  but  the 
followers,  domestics,  or  soldiers  of  Herod.  In  this  opinion,  however, 
they  seem  to  have  been  mistaken.  Others  have  thought  that  this 
sect  obtained  its  name  from  maintaining  the  lawfulness  of  paying  tri- 
bute to  the  Romans;  but,  as  Jesus  taught  the  lawfulness  of  these 
faxes  also,  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  he  cautions  his  disciples  against 


liO  CURE  OF  A  WITHERED  HAND. 

tude  from  the  territories  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  iiaviug 
heard  Of  the  wondrous  things  he  had  done,  resorted 
to  hear  him,  and  to  be  cured  of  their  diseases.  Then 
he  gave  orders  to  his  disciples^  that  a  boat  should 
wait  for  him,  because  of  the  multitudes,  lest  they 
should  throng  him.  For  having  healed  many,  all  who 
had  grievous  diseases,  pressed  to  touch  him ;  for  a 
power  proceeded  from  him,  and  cured  all.  Impure 
spirits  also,  when  they  saw  him,  fell  prostrate  before 
him,  crying :  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God  ;  but,  having 
healed  them,  he  charged  them  not  to  make  him 
known.  Thus  was  fulfilled  the  saying  of  Isaiah  the 
prophet :  Behold  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen, 
my  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  delights ;  I  will  cause 
my  Spirit  to  abide  on  him,  and  he  shall  give  laws  to 
the  nations.  He  will  not  contend  nor  be  clamourous ; 
nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  streets.'  A 
bruised  reed  he  shall  not  break,  nor  quench  a  dimly 
burning  taper,*  until  he  cause  righteousness!  to  tri- 
umph, and  the  nations  to  trust  in  liis  name. 

the  leaven  of  the  Herodians,  Mark  viii.  15  ;  it  follows  that  this  opi- 
nion is  also  futile.  Calinet  and  others  have  taught,  that  the  Hero- 
dians  were  the  followers  of  Judas  of  Galilee,  Acta  v.  37,  but  Hoff- 
mann calls  this  opimon  a  7}ew  paradox.  It  appears,  therefore,  from 
a  full  investigation  of  this  subject,  which  we  cannot  here  give  in  de- 
tail, that  tlie  Herodians  were  a  distinct  sect  in  religion,  which 
flourished  principally  in  the  days  of  the  Herods ;  and  that  their 
leading  tenet,  against  which  our  Lord  gives  the  caution,  was  their 
desire  ol  conforming  the  Jewish  religion  to  the  alien  empire  of 
Rome,  and  the  interests  of  Herod  and  his  successors. 

*  The  Greek  phrase,  \wov  tu-^oiu-svov,  signifies  the  expiring  wick  of 
a  lamp,  when  the  oil  has  been  ail  burnt  away  from  it,  and  nothing  is 
left  but  a  mere  snuff,  emitting  smoke.  Some  .  suppose  the  Jewish 
state,  as  to  ecclesiastical  matters,  is  here  intended,  the  prophecy  de- 
claring that  Christ  would  not  destroy  it,  but  leave  it  to  expire  of  it- 
self, as  it  already  contained  the  principles  of  its  own  destruction. 
Others  have  considered  it  as  implying  that  great  tenderness  with 
which  the  blessed  Jesus  should  treat  the  weak  and  the  ignorant, 
whose  good  desires  must  not  be  stifled,  but  encouraged.  The  bruised 
veed  may  recover  itself,  if  permitted  to  vegetate  under  the  genial  in- 
fluence of  heaven,  and  the  life  and  light  of  the  expiring  lamp  may  be 
supported  by  the  addition  of  fresh  oil. 

t  The  original   word  is   x^iaii,  judgment ,  but  I  have  followed 


SECTION  TWENTY-NINTH. 

Ordination  of  the  Twelve  Disciples. 

Then  Jesus  retired  to  a  mountain  to  pray,  and 
passed  that  nigbt  in  continuate fervent  prayer.*  And, 
on  the  approach  of  day,  he  called  such  of  his  disci- 
ples as   he  chose, t    and  when   they  came  to  him,  he 

Wakefield,  in  translating  it  righteousness.  The  Hebrew  mishpat,  is 
frequently  so  rendered  in  the  Septuagint,  It  is  used  to  signify 
not  only  laws,  but  a  whole  system  of  doctrines,  Psa.  xix.  19;  cxix. 
30,  39 ;  Isa.  Iviii.  2.  AVith  similar  latitude  is  the  Hebrew  zifkkah, 
and  the  Greek  i'lKaioc-wt],  used  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament;  compare  Matt.  iii.  15;  vi.  1,  33.  A  Greek  poet 
has  said,  S'tKaioa-vn,  is  a  comprehensive  name  for  every  virtue. — 
Hence,  I  conclude,  that  the  original  word,  in  this  passage,  means  the 
Gospel,  which,  when  rendered  triumphant,  will  not  only  produce 
every  blessing  and  virtue,  but  magnify  the  grace,  and  exalt  the  ho- 
nour of  God  in  the  glorification  of  all  that  obey  him. 

*  This  passage  has  occasioned  great  perplexity  to  interpreters.  It 
is  certain  the  common  translation,  prayer  to  God,  is  a  violation  of 
all  sober  rules  of  grammar  and  philology.  Dr.  Campbell  observes, 
that  the  common  signification  of  yr^oc-evp^i),  is  indeed  prayer,  but  the 
term  is  always,  in  the  New  Testament,  construed  with  the  preposi- 
tion TTpoi,  before  the  object  addressed;  see  Acts  xii.  5 ;  Rom.  x.  1 ; 
XV.  30 ;  Heb.  v.  7.  And  when  the  term  is  followed  by  the  geni- 
tive of  a  word,  denoting  a  person,  it  is  invariably  the  person  praying, 
not  the  person  prayed  to ;  see  James  v.  16;  Rev.  v.  8;  viii.  3. — 
Though  the  words  occur  in  the  Septuagint,  and  in  the  P«iew  Testa- 
ment, times  without  number,  the  genitive  is  not,  in  a  single  instance,  a" 
employed  to  denote  the  being  to  whom  supplication  is  made.  Such  a  L 
mode  of  interpreting  would  be  subversive  of  the  analogy  of  the  lan- 
guage. The  only  way  of  avoiding  this  error  here  is,  by  assigning 
another  meaning  to  the  original  word,  and  translating  it  a  house, 
or  place  of  prayer,  an  oratory.  That  there  is  undoubted  authority 
for  this  meaning  of  the  word,  is  shown  by  the  examples  produced  by 
"Wetstein  from  Philo,  Josephus,  and  others.  Luke  uses  it  again  in  the 
same  sense.  Acts  xvi.  13,  16.  Had  the  Doctor  reflected  for  a  moment 
on  the  Hebrew  idioms  and  terms  of  expression,  which  occur  so  fre- 
quently in  the  New  Testament,  he  would  have  recollected  the  Jewish 
method  of  forming  a  superlative,  by  adding  the  name  of  God.  Hence 
the  meaning  of  the  Greek  phrase,  is  that  given  in  the  translation,  in- 
cessant fervent  prayer. 

t  Hitherto  Jesus  had  been  accompanied  in  an  irregular  manner,  as 
we  may  say,  by  all  persons  promiscuously,  who  had  most  leisure,  and 
who  were  most  struck  with  his  miracles  and  discourses:  and  per- 


/ 


112       ORDINATION    OF   THE    TWELVE    DISCIPLES. 

ordained  twelve  to  abide  with  him,  whom  he  after- 
wards constituted  apostles,  and  sent  forth  to  preach, 
possessing  the  power  of  healing  diseases,  and  casting 
out  demons.  Now  the  names  of  the  twelve*  were 
Simon,  whom  he  surnamed  Peter,  and  Andrew  his 
brother;  James  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  bro- 
ther, whom  he  surnamed  Boanerges,  sons  of  thunder ; 
Philip  and  Bartholomew ;  Thomas  and  Matthew  the 
publican ;  James  son  of  Alpheus,  and  Judas  sur- 
named Thaddeus;  Simon  the  Canaanite,  called  Ze- 
lotes,  and  Judas,  who  became  a  traitor. 

And  coming  down  with  them,  he  stood  in  the  plain, 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  disciples,  and  a  vast  multi- 
tude ;  and,  lifting  his  eyes  towards  his  disciples,  he 

haps  few  persons  attended  him  constantly.  But,  from  this  time,  di- 
rected no  doubt  by  infinite  wisdom,  he  proceeded  to  the  choice  of 
twelve  constant  companions  ;  persons  who,  being  with  him  at  all 
times,  as  of  his  family,  might  have  an  opportunity  of  knowing  him 
thoroughly,  and  of  observing  his  whole  conduct ;  so  that,  without  any 
supernatural  assistance,  they  might  be  witnesses  of  his  life,  doctrine, 
miracles,  death,  and  resurrection,  to  that  and  every  future  age,  and 
no  reasonable  doubt  might  remain  concerning  them.  That  this  was 
the  reason  of  the  appointment  of  these  twelve,  we  may  infer  from 
what  preceded  the  choice  of  another  apostle,  to  succeed  Judas,  Acts 
i.  21.  It  appears,  however,  from  this  passage,  that  though  twelve 
persons  only  were  expressly  appointed  for  this  purpose,  many  others 
were  sufficiently,  if  not  equally  qualified  for  the  office  of  apostles, 
since  others  besides  the  twelve  had  attended  Jesus  almost  as  much. 
That  this  measure,  of  the  appointment  of  the  twelve  apostles,  was 
taken  with  the  greatest  deliberation,  and  under  a  divine  direction, 
may  appear  from  what  Luke  says  of  Jesus  spending  the  preceding 
night  in  prayer. 

^  These  twelve  apostles  are,  in  all  the  Evangelists,  mentioned  in 
the  same  order,  beginning  with  Peter;  who,  without  any  particular 
designation,  seems  to  have  taken  the  lead  among  them,  both  before 
and  after  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  Judas  is  always  mentioned  the 
last  in  the  catalogue  of  apostles,  as,  no  doubt,  the  least  worthy  of  the 
character.  It  is  evident  that  Jesus  knew  from  the  beginning  what  his 
real  character  was,  and  what  part  he  would  act.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing this,  there  was  tlie  greatest  wisdom  in  tlie  appointment  of  him, 
as  it  might  be  depended  upon,  that  if  he  had  been  conscious  of  any 
imposture  in  the  conduct  of  Jesus,  he  would  have  revealed  it,  rather 
than  have  destroyed  himself  by  anguish  of  mind  ;  when,  by  the 
temptation  of  a  bribe,  he  had  been  induced  to  betray  him. 


ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPLES.        113 

said  :  Spiritually  happy  ye  poor ;  for  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  yours.  Happy  ye  that  mourn  now ;  for  ye 
shall  be  consoled.  Happy  ye  meek  ;  for  ye  shall  in- 
herit the  land.  Happy  ye  who  hunger  now,  and  thirst 
for  righteousness ;  for  ye  shall  be  satisfied.  Happy 
the  merciful;  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.  Happy 
the  pure  in  heart ;  for  they  shall  see  God.*  Happy 
the  peacemakers ;  for  the}^  shall  be  called  sons  of 
God.  Happy  they  who  are  persecuted  on  account 
of  righteousness ;  for  the  kingdom  of  the  highest  hea- 
ven is  theirs.  Happy  shall  ye  be,  when  men  shall 
hate  and  persecute  you,  and  exclude  you  from  their 
society,  reviling  you,  and  accusing  you  of  every  evil 
thing  for  the  Son  of  man's  sake.  Rejoice  on  that 
day,  and  be  exceedingly  glad  ;  for  great  is  your  re- 
wardf  in  the  highest  heaven  :  for  in  like  manner  their 
fathers  persecuted  the  prophets,  who  came  before 
you. 

■  ■  ■  >' 

*  To  see  God  is  a  Hebraism  implying  to  enjoy  God  and  his  salvation. 
See  John  iii.  3,  and  36.  This  phrase  was  used  by  both  Jews  and 
Heathens  to  signify  a  state  of  blessedness.     Hence  Virgil  says: 

Ille  Deuni  vitani,  ailspiciet,  divisque  vidcbit 
Permistos,  heroas,  et  ipse  videbitur  illis, 

t  Reward  in  heaven,  Matt,  v.  12. — Treasure  in  heaven,  Matt. 
vi.  20. — Recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  Luke  xiv.  14. — 
A  crown  of  righteousuess  which  the  righteous  Judge  will  give  me  at 
my  departure,  and  also  to  all  that  love  his  appearance,  2  Tim.  iv.  8. — 
An  unperishable  inheritance  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  1  Peter  i.  4. — > 
The  trial  of  your  faith  will  be  found  to  honour  and  glory,  at  the  ap- 
pearance of  Christ,  1  Peter  i.  4.  J. — We  strive  to  obtain  an  incor- 
ruptible crown,  1  Cor.  is.  25. — If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in 
Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable,  1  Cor.  xv.  19.— Our  light 
affliction  works  for  us  a  far  exceeding  eternal  weight  of  glory,  2 
Cor.  iv.  17. — Eye  has  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man 
conceived  what  God  has  prepared  for  them  that  love  him,  I 
CoK.  ii.  9. 

What  mean  these  and  many  similar  passages  of  Scripture?  Do 
they  encourage  a  grovelling  mercenar}'  spirit  in  the  minds  of  the  vir- 
tuous ?  Or,  do  they  mean  no  more  than,  that  the  righteous  are  more 
happy  in  their  minds,  while  they  are  suffering  aud  striving  for  the 
honour  of  Christ  ?  Alas  !  What  perversion  ef  Scripture,  and  what 
bliQdjies.s  in  Sectarianism  !     Nothing  less  can  be  meant,  than  the  ex- 

15 


ii4       ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPLES. 

But  alas  !*  for  you  that  are  rich ;  for  ye  are  receiv- 
ing your  consolation.  Alas  !  for  you  that  are  filled  i 
for  ye  shall  hunger.  Alas  !  ye,  that  laugh  now,  shall 
mourn  and  weep.  Alas  !  when  men  shall  speak  well 
of  you ;  for  so  did  their  fathers  of  the  false  prophets. 

tension  of  the  rfewards  of  virtue  and  piety  to  all  worlds.  Nor  can 
any  thing  less  than  bigotry  induce  a  man  to  say  or  think  that  those 
rewards  are  common  to  all,  seeing  that  they  are  exclusively  the  por- 
tion of  the  righteous,  in  which  the  infidel,  the  hypocrite,  and  the  un- 
godly have  no  part.  The  crown  belongs  to  them  who  strive  for  it, 
and  love  the  appearance  of  Christ. — The  treasure  in  heaven  belongs 
alone  to  those  who  have  laid  up  their  treasure  there. — The  great 
things  God  has  prepared,  are  only  for  those  who  love  him. — Let  no 
man  therefore  be  deceived  ;  for  what  he  sows  that  shall  he  reap. — 
They,  therefore,  make  sad  the  heart  of  God's  people,  who  rashly 
deny  them  the  hope  which  God  has  set  before  them,  and  by  which, 
even  the  Master  of  Christians  himself  was  induced  to  suffer  the 
shameful  death  of  the  Cross.  Let  the  Christian  rejoice,  therefore, 
to  run  the  race  set  before  him.  The  prize  is  sure.  Those  who 
would  pretend  to  exalt  the  grace  of  God,  by  the  subversion  of  all  dis- 
tinction in  another  world,  may  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  wicked, 
and  make  the  hearts  of  the  righteous  sad,  but  let  them  beware  lest 
they  be  foundjthe  least  in  the  kingdom  of  God  and  Christ,  on  ac- 
count of  their  unhallowed  attempt  to  destroy  the  greatest  motives  to 
virtue,  which  the  God  of  love  has  revealed  to  man,  in  those  Scrip- 
tures, which  are  profitable  for  reproof  and  instruction  in  righteous-* 
ness,  2  Tim.  iii.  l6. 

*  I  have  followed  Wakefield,  in  translating  oua.t  alas,  and  not  7000, 
as  in  most  versions,  Grotius  says,  it  is  a  word  of  lamentation  and 
not  of  anger*  The  Jewish  Legislator,  appointed  a  public  proclama- 
tion of  blessings  for  the  virtuous,  and  maledictions  against  those  who 
kept  not  the  law,  Deut,  xi.  29,  dnd  xxvii.  12,  i3 — xxviii.  9.  But  the 
Institutor  of  the  Christian  religion,  softens  maledictionihto  commisser- 
ation,  and  laments  the  folly  and  misery  of  erring  man.  This  is  mani- 
fest from  the  construction  of  the  Greek ;  there  being  no  change  from 
the  indicative  to  the  optative  or  imperative  mode  of  the  verb,  as 
should  have  been,  had  imprecation  or  malediction  been  intended. 
BesideSj  the  phrase  is  often  used  when  no  imprecation  can  be  de- 
signed. See  Matt,  xxiv,  9;  Luke  xxiii.29;  1  Cor.  ix.  I6.  Nor  can 
the  mere  circumstances  of  being  rich,  full,  joyful,  or  popular, 
induce  execration,  with  the  least  show  of  justice,  any  more  than 
those  of  being  poor,  hungry,  sorrowful,  or  despised,  can  entitle  a 
man  to  the  benediction  of  heaven.  The  truth  is,  that  no  circum- 
stance in  which  any  man  can  be  placed  will  profit  him,  unless  it 
occasion  the  peaceful  fruits  of  righteousness,  nor  be  injurious  to 
himj  unless  it  estrange  his  heart  from  God,  or  lead  to  impiety. 


ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  OISClPLES.        115 

Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth ;  but  if  this  salt  become 
insipid,*  how  shall  its  savour  be  restored  ?  It  is  hence- 
forth good  for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast  away  and  trod- 
den under  foot  of  men.  Salt  is  good.  Have  salt  in 
yourselves,  and  be  at  peace  one  with  another :  for  as 
every  sacrifice!  is  seasoned  with  silt,  so  every  one  of 
you  should  be  salted  for  the  fire. 

Ye  are  the  hght  of  the  world,  t  A  city  built  on  a 
hill  cannot  be  concealed :  nor  do  men  light  a  lamp  and 
place  it  under  a  bushel  or  couch,  but  on  a  stand,  that 
it  may  give  light  to  all  that  are  in  the  hoqse.  So  let 
your  light  shine  before  men,  that  seeing  your  good 
works,  they  may  glorify  your  Father,  who  is  in  the 
— ' « — ' ■  ■ .  ...  ■ 

*  That  this  is  possible  in  Judea  we  have  the  testimony  of  Maun- 
drel,  who  speaking  of  the  valley  of  salt,  saj^s  ;  "I  broke  a  piece  of 
that  part  which  was  exposed  to  the  air,  sun,  and  rain,  but  though  it 
had  the  sparks  and  particles  of  salt,  yet  it  had  entirely  lost  its  sa- 
vour." Here  Dr.  Clarke  well  observes :  A  preacher  may  have  the 
sparks  and  glittering  particles  of  true  wisdom,  without  its  unction  or 
comfort;  only  the  soul  that  is  in  union  with  Christ  by  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit can  preserve  its  savour."  Ministers,  like  salt,  should  preserve  the 
world  from  putrefaction. 

t  The  learned  Schoetgen  has  favoured  the  world  with  an  excellent 
treatise  on  this  difficult  passage.  It  was  the  peculiar  characteristic 
of  our  Lord's  instructions,  to  draw  his  illustrations  from  the  common 
objects,  which  were  either  familiar  or  present  to  his  hearers.  As  the 
people  were  familiarly  acquainted  with  every  custom  connected  with 
the  temple  service,  an  allusion  to  any  part  of  it  would  be  readily  un- 
derstood. Now  there  was  a  bitumenous  salt  used  in  Judea,  obtained 
from  the  Asphaltite  Lake  ;  and  which  having  a  fragrant  odour, 
was  strewn  in  great  quantities  over  the  Sacrifices,  to  prevent  inconve- 
nience from  the  smell  of  the  burning  flesh,  and  to  qiiicken  the  action 
ef  the  fire,  that  the  Sacrifices  might  be  more  quickly  consumed. 
Great  quantities  of  this  bitumenous  preparation  lay  in  its  appointed 
place  in  the  temple,  and  was  easily  damaged.  The  virtue  of  the 
salt  was  soon  lost  by  exposure  to  the  effects  of  the  sun  and  air,  and 
it  was  then  sprinkled  over  the  pavement  of  the  temple,  to  prevent 
the  feet  of  tlie  priests  from  slipping,  during  the  performance  of  the 
service. — Schoetgen.  Horae  Hebraicae,  Vol.  1.  p.  20. 

'I  Light  of  the  world,  was  a  title  given  by  the  Jews  to  their  most 
distinguished  Rabbins.  Christ  applies  it  Iiore  to  his  disciples,  whom 
he  now  set  apart  to  take  place  of  the  Jewish  teachers.  As  the 
lights  of  the  world,  they  were  designed  to  lead  men  out  of  the  ways 
Qi  ignorance  and  vice  into  the  paths  of  truth  and  holiness.     Like  the 


116         ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPLES. 


highest  heaven.*  For  there  is  nothing  hid,  which  will 
not  come  to  light ;  nor  any  thing  concealed,  which  shall 
not  be  known,  and  brought  to  view.  The  eye  is  the 
lamp  of  the  body  :  if  therefore  the  eye  be  somid,  the 
whole  body  will  be  enlightened ;  but  if  the  eye  be 
disordered"^  the  whole  body  will  be  in  darkness.  Con- 
sider, therefore,  whether  the  light  in  you  be  darkness. 
If  the  light  in  you  become  darkness,!  how  great  that 
darkness  !  But  if  the  body  be  enhghtened,  without 
any  dark  part,  it  will  be  enhghtened  as  when  a  lamp 
gives  you  light  by  its  blaze. 

sun  in  the  firmament,  and  the  lamp  on  the  stand,  every  minister  of 
Jesus  should  diffuse  tiie  light  of  divine  knowledge,  and  the  warmth 
of  celestial  fire,  on  all  that  surround  him,  or  enter  the  circle  of  his 
acquaintance. 

*  I  have  translated  h^moi,  the  highest  Heaven,  agreeably  to  the 
Hebrew  idipm  of  using  a  plural  instead  of  a  superlative,  or  to  ex- 
press majesty  and  excellence.  The  Jews  reckoned  three  heavens. 
1  The  air,  Matt.  vi.  26  ;  Luke  ix.  54. — 2  The  firmament,  Mark  xiii. 
25,31;  Luke  xxi.  26;  and  Heb.  xi.  12. — 3  The  third  heaven,  or 
heaven  of  heavens,  supposed  to  be  the  residence  of  the  Deity,  or 
throne  of  God,  frequently  called  Heavens,  in  the  plural  by  way  of 
eminence,  2  Cor.  xii.  2;  1  Kings  vii,  27  ;  2  Chron.  ii.  6,  and  vi.  18. 

t  Light  in  man  may  be  regarded  as  his  learni)]g,  or  moral  sense : 
and  in  both  acceptations,  the  light  may  become  darkness.  A  false 
education,  corrupt  religious  opinions,  or  a  depraved  conscience  is  like 
midnight  darkness  to  the  soul.  Many  vainly  imagine,  that  con- 
science is  a  sure  and  safe  guide ;  and  some  so  grossly  mistake,  as  to 
attribute  man's  accountabiiit}'  to  the  law  of  his  understanding,  but 
nothing  can  be  more  certain,  than  the  utter  fallacy  of  such  opinions. 
No  man  knows  of  right  or  wrong,  but  as  he  has  learned  the  charac- 
ter of  his  God :  and  all  that  he  can  learn  with  certainty,  on  this  mo- 
mentous subject,  is  derived  from  revelation.  Before,  therefore, 
man's  uuderstanding  or  conscience  can  be  admitted  as  a  standard  o.- 
mora)  rectitude,  we  must  be  perfectly  assured,  that  the  law  of  the 
understanding  is  an  exact  transcript  of  the  revealed  law  of  God,  and 
that  conscience  is  a  perfect  re-echo  of  the  Christian  morality,  taught 
by  the  blessed  Jesus.  But  how  rare  is  this  perfection  of  the  under- 
standing and  conscience  !  and  what  vast  multitudes  have  their  under- 
standing and  conscience  perverted  by  the  darkness  of  a  false  science, 
the  gloom  of  a  corrupt  theology,  or  the  pravity  of  sinful  habits. 
Let  all  men,  therefore,  search  and  try  their  ways  ;  looking  to  the 
Father  of  Lights,  and  in  the  fervent  prp.yer  of  a  devoted  mind,  be- 
seech him  to  lighten  their  darkness,  heal  the  moral  diseases  of  theii 


ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPLES,         117 

Then  he  uttered  a  forcible  sentence  :  Can  the  blind 
lead  the  blind?  Shall  not  both  fall  into  a  ditch?  The 
disciple  is  not  above  his  teacher ;  but  every  finished 
scholar  will  be  like  his  master.  Give  not  that  which 
is  sacred  to  dogs,  nor  cast  your  pearls  before  swine, 
lest  having  trampled  them  under  their  feet,  they  turn 
and  tear  you.* 

A  mass  t  not  treasure  for  yourselves  on  earth,  where 
moth  and  rust  consume,  and  thieves  break  through 

soul,  and  lift  on  them  the  light  of  his  countenance,  that  by  his  light 
and  influence,  they  may  be  transformed  into  his  image,  and  reflect  his 
holiness. 

"  In  my  apprehension,  says  Dr.  Campbell,  our  Lord's  argument 
stands  thus :  "  The  eye  is  the  lamp  of  the  body  ;  from  it  all  the  other 
members  derive  their  light.  Now  if  that  which  is  the  light  of  the 
body  be  darkened,  how  miserable  will  be  the  state  of  the  body  ? 
how  great  will  be  the  darkness  of  those  members  which  have  no 
light  of  their  own,  but  depend  entirely  on  the  eye  ?"  And  to  show 
that  this  applies  equall}'  in  the  figurative  or  moral,  as  well  as  in  the 
literal  sense  :  "  If  the  conscience,  that  mental  light  which  God  has 
given  to  n^an  for  regulating  his  moral  conduct,  be  itself  vitiated ; 
what  will  be  the  state  of  the  appetites  and  passions,  which  are  natu- 
rally blind  and  precipitate  ?"  Or  to  take  the  thing  in  another  view  : 
You,  my  disciples,  I  have  called  the  light  of  the  world,  because  des- 
tined for  instructors  and  guides  to  the  rest  of  mankind ;  but  if  ye 
should  come,  through  ignorance  and  absurd  prejudices,  to  mistake 
evil  for  good,  and  good  for  evil,  how  dark  and  wretched  will  be  the 
condition  of  those  who  depend  on  the  instructions  they  receive  from 
you,  for  their  guidance  and  direction?" 

*  The  import  of  this  passage  seems  to  be,  a  prohibition  of  a  com- 
mon abuse  of  holy  things.  As  it  would  have  been  irreverent  and 
profane  to  have  cast  the  sacrifices  to  "dogs  or  swine,  so  is  it  also  an 
abuse  of  the  sacred  institutions  of  religion,  and  the  promises  and 
consolations  of  God's  blessed  word,  to  dispense  them  to  those  who 
have  no  hunger  or  thirst  for  righteousness,  nor  no  higher  views  ot' 
heaven,  than  the  satisfying  of  their  sensual  appetites,  and  the  gratifi- 
cation of  base  desire  Solomon  says :  A  word  fitly  spoken  is  like 
apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver,  Prov.  xxv.  11  ;  and  Jesus  said : 
The  Lord  God  has  given  me  the  tongue  of  the  learned,  that  I  should 
know  how  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  the  weary.     Isa. — 1.  4. 

t  Ajnass  not  treasure  on  earth — hut  lay  up  for  yourselves  trca.' 
sure  in  hcacen.  This  advice  of  the  Saviour  is  to  be  understood 
agreeably  to  the  Hebrew  idiom,  which  oft  employs  a  negative  instead 
of  a  comparative  ;  thus  Prov.  viii.  10,  Receive  my  i-nstruction  and  not 
silver.  Matt.  l."c.  Ic?.  I  will  have  mercv  and  wi>if  sacrifice-,     hi  thes« 


US         ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPLES. 

and  steal.  But  sell  your  possessions,  and  give  alms* 
Provide  for  yourselves  purses  that  will  not  wear ;  and 
lay  up  for  yourselves  an  inexhaustible  treasure  in 
heaven,  where  no  thieves  approach  to  steal,  nor  is 
any  thing  spoiled  by  worms ;  for  where  your  treasure 
is,  there" will  your  hearts  be  also.  No  man  can  serve 
two  masters :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one  and  love 
the  other ;  or  he  will  wait  on  the  one  and  neglect 
the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  riches.  There- 
fore I  say  to  you :  Be  not  anxious*  for  your  life,  what 
A' e  shall  eat ;  nor  for  your  body  what  ye  shall  wear. 
Is  not  hfe  better  than  food,  and  the  body  than  raiment. 
Observe  the  fowls  of  heaven  ;  they  sow  not,  neither 
do  they  reap  and  gather  into  barns ;  yet  your  hea- 
venly Father  feeds  them.  Are  ye  not  better  than 
thev  ?  Which  of  you  by  anxious  thought,  can  add  to 
his  hfe  a  single  day  ?  And  if  you  cannot  do  that  which 
is  least,  why  be  anxious  about  the  rest  ?  And  why 


and  similar  expressions,  the  import  of  the  negative  not  is  rather 
tjian — Mercy  rather  than  sacrifice.  Now,  if  we  transpose  the  ad- 
vice of  our  Master  to  his  disciples,  it  will  read  thus :  Lay  up  trea- 
sure in  heaven  not  (rather  than)  on  earth.  But  the  instructions  con- 
tained in  this  section,  receive  peculiar  force  and  pertinence,  when 
regarded  as  a  solemn  charge  or  ordination  Sermon,  pronounced  by 
the  Great  Bishop  of  the  Christian  Church,  on  the  separation  of 
twelve  of  his  disciples  for  the  sacred  work  of  the  ministry.  Wretch- 
ed is  the  condition  of  that  Pastor,  who  seeks  the  fleece,  not  the 
flock  :  and  sordid  the  soul  of  the  Minister,  who  seeks  a  place  in  the 
sacred  desk,  as  the  means  of  honour  or  emolument.  If  any  man 
would  follow  Christ,  as  a  teacher  of  religion,  let  hirn  take  up  his 
cross  daily,  and  follow  his  Master,  by  consecrating  his  soul  and  body, 
time  and  talents,  to  the  service  of  his  God,  being  anxious  about 
nothing.  Wherever  the  Lord  sends  him,  the  hearts  of  the  people 
will  be  opened  to  receive  him,  and  to  minister  to  his  necessities. 

*  The  original  word  is  derived  from  the  phrase  fit^tiiw  ifov  vow,  to 
divide  or  distract  the  mind.  Such  anxious  and  distracting  care,  is 
forbidden  by  our  Lord,  because  it  is  alike  destructive  to  religious 
duty  and  human  happiness.  The  double  minded  man  is  unstable  in 
all  his  ways.  Hence,  an  English  writer  has  well  said  :  Like  a  man 
to  double  business  bound,  I  stand  and  pause  where  I  shall  first  begin^ 
and  both  neglect.     Also  a  Latin  Poet ; 

Tot  nie  impediunl  curae,  quae  meum  animura  diverse  tralnmf. 


ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPLES.        119 

iSiYe  ye  anxiously  concerned  about  raiment  ?  consider 
the  lilies*  of  the  field,  how  they  grow.  They  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin  :  yet  Solomon  in  all  his  glory, 
was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Therefore  if  God 
so  adorn  the  herbage^  which  may  be  in  the  field  to- 
day and  the  morrow,  be  cast  into  the  oven,t  how  much 
more  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  Therefore,  inquire 
not  anxiously  hke  the  heathen.  What  shall  we  eat  ? 
What  shall  we  drink  ?  Or  with  what  shall  we  be  clo- 
thed ?  For  your  heavenly  Father  knows  tliat  ye  need 
all  these  things.  But  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven audits  righteousness  ;t  and  all  these  things  shall 
be  superadded  to  you.  Be  ye  not  therefore,  anxious 
about  the  morrow  ;  for  the  morrow  will  bring  its  own 
concerns^  Sufficient  for  each  day  is  its  own  trouble.}} 
Fear  not  little  flock,  for  it  is  your  Father's  good 

*  Consider  those  lilies.  Allowing  what  may  be,  at  least,  gener- 
ally admitted  \Vith  safety,  that  our  Master  drew  his  illustrations  from 
present  and  familiar  objects,  his  reference  to  the  lilies  and  the  herb- 
age, at  that  day  in  the  field,  will  fix  the  time  of  this  discourse  to  that 
period  assigned  to  it,  by  the  Chronological  arrangement  adopted  in 
this  Harmony:  namely  in  May  A.  D.  31,  between  the  feasts  of  the 
Passover  and  Pentecost. 

t  The  inhabitants  of  the  East  make  use  of  dry  stubble,  straw,  or 
withered  herbs,  to  heat  their  ovens. — Harmer^s  Observations. 

I  The  kingdom  of  Heaven  and  its  righteousness,  imply  the  reign 
or  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  pure  and  perfect  system  of  morality 
and  religion  taught  by  the  founder  of  the  Christian  Church  or  king- 
dom. Micah  defines  the  righteousness  of  the  Lord  to  be  what  the 
Lord  requires,  Micah  vi.  5,  8.  Paul  contrasts  the  righteousness  of 
God  with  that  which  the  Jews  sought  to  establish,  Rom.  iii.  21,  and 
X.  3.     This  righteousness  of  their  own   was  what  they  had  adopted 

as  a  moral  system  consisting  of  numerous  rites  and  ceremonies,  foun-  A 
ded,  in  part,  on  the  letter  of  the  Law,  but,  more  fully,  on  their  own 
traditions.  Oh  !  Let  the  reign  of  Christ  or  heaven  triumph  in  the 
human  soul,  Let  all  the  powers  and  affections  of  man  be  subject  to 
the  dictates  of  this  holy  religion,  and  all  heaven  is  bound  to  make 
the  man  happy  and  provide  for  his  exigencies.  Eternal  truth  shall 
be  maintained  in  that  blessed  declaration:  They  that  seek  the  Lord 
shall  not  want  any  good.     Ps.  xxxiv.  10. 

II  "  Sufficient  for  the  day  are  the  present  troubles  of  life,  and  God 
would  not  have  us  to  add  to  them,  by  any  unreasonable  solicitous- 
aess  far  the  fniuve  J' ■^Samuel  Clark. 


120  ORDINATION  OF  THE  TWELVE  DISCIPES. 

pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom.  Not  every  one 
calling  me  Slaster,*  shall  enter  the  kingdom  of  the 
Highest  Heaven,  but  he  who  does  the  will  of  my 
Father,  who  is  in  the  highest  Heaven.  Many  will 
say  to  me  in  that  day,  Master,  have  we  not  taught  in 
thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  cast  out  demons,  and  in 
thy  name  done  many  wonderful  deeds  ?  Then  shall 
I  acknoweldge  to  them,  I  never  knew  you  !  Depart 
from  me,  ye  workers  of  iniquity.  Why  call  ye  me 
Master,  and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say  ?  There- 
fore, whosoever  hears  these  sayings  of  mine  and  does 
them,  I  will  compare  him  to  a  prudent  man,  who  build- 
ing an  house,  dug  deep  and  laid  the  foundation  on  a 
rock :  and  the  rains  descended,  and  the  floods  arose, 
the  winds  blew,  and  the  streams  beat  vehemently  on 
that  house,  but  it  felt  not,  nor  was  it  shaken  ;  for  it 
was  founded  on  a  rock.  But  whosoever  hears  these 
my  words  and  does  them  not,  shall  be  compared  to  a 
foolish  man  who  built  his  house  on  the  sand  without  a 
foundation  :  and  the  rains  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  the  storm  beat  vehe- 
mently against  that  house,  and  immediately  it  fell,  and 
great  was  its  ruin.f 


*  The  word  Master  is  the  most  appropriate  title  to  be  used  by  a 
Jew  in  addressing  a  prophet  or  teacher ;  when  heathens  are  speakers, 
the  appellation  Sir,  is  then  the  mest  suitable.  The  meaning  of  our 
Lord  in  this  place  is,  that  no  man,  however  exalted  in  privilege,  or 
endowed  by  gifts,  or  distinguished  for  professions,  shall  obtain  the 
approbation  of  God,  or  acceptance  in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  if  he 
be  not  possessed  of  the  spirit  and  mind  of  Christ.  Nothing  but  a 
meek,  holy,  and  obedient  mind,  is  fitted  for  the  kingdom  of  Jesus. 

t  In  Judea  and  all  tropical  countries,  the  rain  often  falls  in  great 
torrents,  producing  rivers  which  sweep  away  the  soil  from  the  hills  ; 
and  such  houses  as  are  built  of  brick,  imperfectly  prepared,  by  being 
•only  dried  in  the  sun,  literally  melt  away  before  these  violent  rains. 
What  a  perfect  picture  of  a  nominal  church,  founded  and  built  by  an 
unskilful  or  unholy  minister  !  and  of  all  the  unhallowed  attempts  of 
men,  who  imagine  they  can  establish  a  name  or  accumulate  wealth 
by  unholy  asjd  crafty  inventions. 


SECTION  THIRTIETH. 

Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Then  Jesus  beholding  a  great  concourse  of  people, 
ascende(f  the  Mount,  and  sitting  down,*  his  disciples 
Came  to  him,  and  resumingf  his  discourse,  he  taught 
them,  saying  : 

Do  not  imagine  that  I  am  come  to  subvert^  the  law 

*  This  was  the  signal  of  his  intention  to  continue  his  instructions  ; 
for  the  Jewish  teachers  generally  sat  whilst  they  preached  or  taught 
the  people.  Accordingly  the  disciples  resorted  to  their  Master  on 
perceiving  his  intention  thus  manifested  by  sitting  down.  The  word 
disciples,  here  nnust  not  be  limited  to  the  number  twelve,  which  he 
had  lately  selected  to  be  his  constant  companions,  but  it  must  be 
understood  as  including  all  those  who  believed  in  Christ's  divine  com- 
mission, and  followed  him,  at  least  occasionally,  to  hear  his  divine 
instructions. 

t  Much  diversity  of  opinion  exists  among  the  Harmonists,  con- 
cerning the  chronology  of  the  sermon  on  the  plain  and  that  deliver- 
ed on  the  mount.  Priestley  and  Clarke  think  there  is  no  inconsisten* 
cy  in  the  supposition,  that  they  are  the  same  ;  for  Jesus  might  have 
stood  in  the  plain  whilst  he  healed  the  sick,  and  afterward  retired 
to  the  mount,  for  the  greater  convenience  of  his  hearers.  New- 
come,  Lightfoot,  Pilkington,  Michaelis,  Richardson,  Priestley  and 
Townsend,  are  agreed  in  considering  these  discourses  as  the  sarae^ 
notwithstanding  some  diversity  in  the  narrative  of  the  two  Evangel- 
ists. Doddridge,  Bedford,  M'Knight  and  others  maintain  the  con- 
trary opinion  ;  believing  them  two  distinct  events.  I  have  attempt- 
ed to  reconcile  both  parties  in  considering  the  sermon  on  the  plain, 
as  a  part  of  the  sermon  on  the  mount,  which  immediately  succeededo 
The  sermon  on  the  plain  I  conceive  to  be  peculiarly  addressed  to  the 
disciples ;  that  en  the  mount  to  be  adapted  to  a  mixed  audience, 
still  keeping  in  view  the  instruction  of  the  Pastoral  office,  and  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  Christian  religion.  Matthew  and  Luke 
have  both  infringed  on  each  other's  narrative,  probably  on  ac- 
count  of  some  inaccuracy  in  the  memorandums,  from  which  they 
compiled  their  history,  or  a  lapsus  memorise  of  the  order  pursued  in 
the  discourse.  This  has  been  assumed  in  my  efforts  to  restore  order 
and  connexion  in  the  two  discourses,  of  which  no  candid  and  intelli- 
gent Christian  will  venture  to  complain. 

I  Many  visionaries  have  arisen  in  different  ages  of  the  Christian 
church,  who,  notwithstanding  this  solemn  and  plain  declaration  of 
our  blessed  Master,  have  ventured  to  affirm  and  teach  that  the  law 
of  Moses  is  abolished,  merely  from  a  supposition  that  it  was  too 
grievous  a  burden  to  be  borne.     But  tliere  never  existed  a  stricter 

16 


122  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

and  the  prophets  ;  I  come  not  to  abrogate  but  to  ful- 
fil. Verily  I  say  to  you,  heaven  and  earth  may  as 
soon  pass  away,  as  one  yood  or  point*  pass  from  the 
law  till  all  be  accomplished.  Therefore,  whosoever 
shall  violate  the  least  of  these  commandments  and 
teach  men  accordingly,  shall  be  least  in  the  kingdom 
of  the  highest  heaven  :  but  whosoever  will  both  do 
and  teach  them,  shall  be  greatf  in  the  kingdom  of  the 

system  of  morality  delivered  by  God  to  man,  than  that  contained  iit 
this  sermon.  Alas  !  for  those  who  take  liberty  to  sin  because  grace 
abounds,  and  use  the  Christian  liberty  as  a  cloak  for  maliciousness. 
Jesus,  the  Wisdom  of  God,  no  doubt  foresaw  this  disposition,  and 
therefore  on  the  very  first  step  to  found  the  new  dispensation,  he 
takes  occasion  to  caution  his  followers  against  such  a  grievous  de- 
ception, and  thereby  disperse  the  evil  surmises  of  his  Jewish  hearers. 

*  The  yood  is  the  smallest  letter  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  and  a 
point  is  either  a  vowel  point  in  Hebrew,  or  one  of  those  points  used 
to  distinguish  certain  letters,  such  as  resh  and  daleth,  he  and  cheth, 
which  have  a  great  resemblance  to  each  other.  Capellus  in  Arcane 
Punct.  and  several  other  writers,  have  largely  discussed  this  passage, 
in  the  controversy  about  the  authority  of  the  Hebrew  vowel  points. 
The  opinion  that  these  points  existed  in  the  time  of  Christ,  and  that 
the  allusion  is  here  made  to  them,  is  as  probable  as  any  other  view  of 
the  subject.  Our  Lord's  meaning,  however,  cannot  be  mistakea. 
Not  even  a  particle  of  that  holy  law  of  the  Lord  given  to  man 
through  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  shall  fail  to  be  accomplished,  nor 
suffer  abrogation  by  any  subsequent  communication  from  the  same 
unchangeable  God.  Those  writers  who  are  so  much  addicted  to  ex- 
patiate on  the  dissimilarity  of  the  law  of  Moses  and  Christ,  as  to 
continually  diffuse  the  sentiment,  that  the  former  has  been  supplant- 
ed by  the  latter,  cannot  have  reflected  on  the  support  they  give  to 
the  enemies  of  Revelation,  who  have  alwa3's  urged  this  supposed  dis- 
agreement, as  an  argument  against  the  doctrine  which  assigns  their 
origin  to  the  same  unchangeable  Jehovah. 

+  Here,  as  well  as  in  many  other  passages  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  doctrine  of  diversity  of  rnnk  and  degrees  in  spiritual  attainments 
and  happiness  in  the  future  kingdom  of  God,  is  clearly  indicated. 
When  the  mother  of  John  and  James  entreated  Christ  to  give  the 
chief  rank  in  his  kingdom  to  her  two  sons,  Jesus  did  notinformher 
that  no  such  distinction  would  there  subsist  ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
opinion  being  admitted,  Christ  assures  her  and  all  others,  that  eleva- 
tion in  rank  is  not  by  grace,  nor  attainable  by  favour,  but  destined  by 
eternal  justice  for  those  alone,  who  have  qualified  themselves  to  be 
the  righteous  recipients  of  so  great  rewards.  Matt.  xx.  23  ;  and , 
Mark  x.  37,  40, 


SliRMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  iS^ 

highest  heaven.  For  I  say  to  you  :  Except  your 
righteousness*  exceed  that  of  the  Scribes  and  Pha- 
risees, ye  shall  in  nowise  enter  the  kingdom  of  the 
highest  heaven. 

Ye  have  heard  what  was  saidto  the  ancients  :  Thou 
shalt  do  no  murder,  and  whosoever  shall  commit  mur- 
der, shall  be  liable  to  the  sentence  of  the  Judges. 
But  I  tell  you  :  Whosoever  shall  be  unjustly  angry 
with  liis  brother,  shall  be  accountable  to  the  Judges  ; 
and  whosoever  shall  call  his  brother  vile  man,  shall 
be  exposed  to  the  sentence  of  the  Sanhedrim  ;  but 
whosoever  shall  say  apostate  wretch,  shall  be  held  a 
bond  slave  in  the   fiery   Gehenna.f      Therefore,  if 

*  The  Pharisees  affirmed  that  only  the  outward  action  was  com- 
manded or  forbidden  in  the  law,  and  interpreted  all  its  precepts  accor- 
dingly. On  this  principle,  they  boasted  of  having  performed  every 
thing  that  was  required  of  them.  Nay,  they  were  so  arrogant  as  to 
think  they  could  do  even  more  than  was  required.  This  pernicious 
morality,  destructive  of  all  virtue,  Jesus  loudly  condemned,  as  was  fit. 
in  the  beginning  of  his  ministry. — nP Knight. 

Hence  we  see  that  all  that  devotedness  of  soul,  and  purity  of  in- 
tention, which  constitute  the  very  foundation  of  the  Christian  moral- 
ity, were  utterly  disregarded  by  the  Pharisees,  as  making  no  part  of 
their  moral  system. 

t  For  the  illustration  of  this  obscure  passage,  which  has  long  puz- 
zled the  Commentators  and  spread  terror  in  the  ranks  of  the  super- 
stitious, there  appears  nothing  more  needed,  than  to  simply  state 
the  facts  to  which  our  Lord  alludes.  Here  are  three  degrees  of 
crime  mentioned,  and  three  degrees  of  punishment  respectively  an- 
nexed to  each,  proportionate  to  the  powers  inl^ested  in  the  three 
courts  of  Judicature,  held  among  the  Jews.  The  crimes  are  ;  1,  cause- 
less anger ;  2,  anger  accompanied  with  expressions  of  insult  and 
contempt  ;  3,  hatred  and  detestation  accompanied  with  execration. 
The  two  first  arc  threatened  with  -temporal  punishment,  or  the  ani- 
madversions of  the  Jewish  tribunals  ;  and  it  is  highly  analogous  to 
our  Master's  reasoning,  that  the  punishment  annexed  to  the  last, 
should  be  also  temporal,  seeing  the  crime  was  the  same  in  nature, 
as  the  second,  though  somewhat  aggravated.  On  the  contrary,  to 
suppose  with  many  commentators,  that  for  the  little  difference  of  sayj* 
ing  fool  instead  of  simpleton,  our  Lord  should  pass  from  such  a  sen- 
tence as  a  Jewish  court  could  pronounce,  to  the  awful  doom  of  eter- 
nal punishment  in  hell-fire,  is  what  cannot  be  reconciled  to  any  ra- 
tional rule  of  faith,  or  known  measure  of  justice.  This  opinion  will 
be  found  untenable  from  attention  to  the  construction  of  the  Greek, 


124  S^EHMON  OW  THE  MOUNTS 

ye  bring  your  gift  to  the  altar,*  and  there  remembei* 
that  your  brother  has  a  complaint  against  you,  leave 
your  gift  before  the  altar  and  go,  be  reconciled  first  to 
your  brother,  then  returning,  present  your  gift. 
Agree  quickly  with  your  plaintiff  while  you  are  in  the 
way  with  him,  lest  the  plaintiff  deliver  you  to  the 
judge,  and  the  judge  consign  you  to  the  officer,  and 
ye  be  cast  into  prison.  Verily  I  say  to  you  :  ye 
can  in  nowise  be  released  till  ye  have  paid  the  last 
farthing,  t 

In  the  former  instances,  the  construction  is  svoyoc  ro  *f/$«/ — t»  ervvtSfia:, 
but  in  the  third,  it  is  «;  ytwctv  implying  that  the  person  should  be  held 
a  bond  slave,  in  Gehenna.  Now  as  Gehenna  or  Gihinnom,  Tfras  a 
valley  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem,  appointed  by  Josiah  to  be  the 
desecrated  spot  for  the  deposit  and  combustion  of  the  dead  carcasses, 
and  offal  of  animals,  and  other  filth  of  the  city,  we  must  necessarily 
infer,  that  a  great  number  of  persons  must  be  continually  employed 
in  carrying  all  kitids  of  filth  of  the  city,  and  offal  of  the  sacrifices  in- 
to this  valley,  and  in  supplying  fuel  and  attending  to  the  fires.  This 
employment  must  have  been  the  most  degrading,  in  the  estimation 
of  a  Jew,  to  which  any  human  being  could  be  devoted  ;  and  if  we  ad- 
mit, that  in  the  days  of  Christ,  the  power  of  life  and  death  was  taken 
from  the  Jews  by  the  Romans,  as  appears  from  their  acknowledg- 
ment to  Pilate  :  It  is  not  laivful  for  us  to  put  any  man  to  death., 
John  xviii.  31,  it  will  follow  that  sentence  to  the  slavery  of  Gehen- 
na was  the  deepest  degradation  to  which  they  could  consign  their 
Convicts.  As  it  was  not  therefore  in  tlie  power  of  the  Jewish  court, 
to  hangf  stone,  or  burn,  the  punishments  were  whipping,  the  stocks, 
and  slavery,  and  these  and  similar  punishments  were  all  that  Christ 
either  meant  or  implied  in  this  passage.  See  the  commentaries  of 
Hewlett  and  Townsend,  and  my  Systematical  Theology. 

*  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  taught  that  the  gifts  and  sacrifices 
that  were  brought  for  the  temple  service,  were,  of  themselves,  suffi- 
cient to  expiate  all  offenses  which  were  not  to  be  punished  by  the 
judges,  and  that  v/lthout  amendment  of  life.  Therefore  Christ 
teaches,  in  opposition  to  them,  that  no  sacrifice  or  other  worship  can 
be  acceptable  without  justice  and  charity. —  Whitby. 

In  the  doctrine  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  provision  had  been 
made  for  pecuniary  damages  only,  and  bare  restitution,  which  might 
be  done  without  a  charitable  mind  or  brotherly  heart,  but  our  Lord 
urges  reconciliation  of  mind,  for  till  the  duty  of  forgiveness  be  dis- 
charged by  ourselves,  God  will  accept  no  sacrifices  or  services  at  our 
hand. — Lighffoot. 

t  The  opinion  adopted  in  the  above  note,  seems  confirmed  by  this 
passage  ;  for  Christ  has  evidently  thfe  same  subject  in  view  :  yet 


SERMON  OH  THE  MOUNT. 


1^/ 


Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  :  Thou  shalt  nor 
coniQiit  adultery.  But  I  say  to  you,  Whosoever  looks 
on  a  married  woman  to  cherish  impure  desire,  has  al- 
ready committed  adultery  with  her  in  his  heart. 
Therefore,  if  even  your  right  eye*  lead  you  to  sin,  put 
it  out  and  cast  it  from  you  ;  for  it  is  more  profitable 
for  you  to  lose  one  member  than  that  your  whole  body 
be  cast  into  Gehenna.  And  if  the  right  hand  ensnare 
you,  cut  it  off  and  cast  it  away  ;  it  is  better  to  lose 
one  member  than  that  the  whole  body  be  cast  into 
Gehenna. 


he  speaks  of  no  higher  punishment  than  imprisonmment.  Dr. 
Clarke  says,  those  who  make  God  the  adversary,  Christ  the  judge, 
death  the  officer,  and  hell  the  prison,  abuse  the  passage  and  dishon- 
our God.  He  is  also  ollended  at  those  who  would  argue  the  doctrine 
of  purgatory  or  Universal  Restoration  from  the  payment  of  the  debt 
in  prison,  even  to  the  last  farthing.  Be  it  so.  But,  any  man  has  as 
good  a  right,  and  as  high  authority  to  support  the  doctrine  of  purga- 
tory, ©r  universal  restoration  from  this  passage  of  scripture,  as  any 
other  man  has  to  draw  from  it  the  doctrine  of  hell  or  endless  misery. 
The  truth  is,  the  passage  says  nothing  favourable  to  either  the  one  or 
the  other  scheme  ;  for  it  has  no  reference  whatever  to  the  affairs  of 
another  world. 

*  The  meaning  iS)  that  it  is  better  for  a  man  to  restrain  and  morti- 
fy the  strongest  and  most  impetuous  passion  of  his  nature  than  en- 
danger life  and  character  by  its  indulgence.  The  sin  of  adultery  was 
uniformly  punished  with  death  among  the  Jews,  Levit.  xx.  10 ; 
Deut.  xxii.  22.  In  many  cases,  the  sentence  was  execuU'd  by  stoning 
to  death  in  Gehenna.  This  was  done  in  the  following  order.  The 
first  or  chief  witness,  led  the  guilty  bound  to  an  eminence,  and 
cast  him  down  on  a  great  stone  at  the  bottom.  The  second  witness 
stood  prepared  with  another  great  stone  to  cast  down  on  his  breast. 
If  he  still  lived,  the  spectators  rushed  towards  him  and  stoned  him 
till  he  died.  Thus  his  body  was  cast  into  Gehenna.  But  in  many 
instances  adultery,  as  well  as  incest,  sodomy,  and  bestiality,  was  pu- 
nished by  burning  to  death  in  Gehenna.  Hence  our  Lord  wisel}^ 
and  justly  observed,  that  it  was  better  to  loseevenarighteye,  or  hand, 
meaning  merely  the  mortification  of  the  most  ardent  desire,  than  to 
suffer  the  destruction  of  the  whole  body  in  Gehenna.  Moreover, 
lest  any  should  think  his  religion  would  afford  a  greater  liberty  for 
licentiousness,  than  the  law  of  Moses,  he  cautiously  warned  them, 
that  even  the  fostering  of  impure  desire,  in  the  manner  described  m 
the  text,  should  be  accounted  ecjual,  in  turpitude,  to  the  sin  forbiddeTi 
by  the  letter  of  the  law. 


126  SEUMON  on  the  MOliN  1\ 

It  has  also  been  said  :  If  a  man  desire  to  put  away 
his  wife,  let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  separation.* 
But  I  say  to  you  :  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife, 
except  for  adultery,  causes  her  to  become  an  adulter- 
ress  ;  and  whosoever  marries  her  that  has  been  di- 
vorced, becomes  an  adulterer. 


*  The  following  is  the  copy  of  a  bill  of  divorce  as  taken  from 
Lightfoot :  ''  On  the  day  of  the  weekN,  of  the  month  N,  of  the  year 
of  the  world's  creation  N.  according  to  the  computation  by  which 
we  are  wont  to  reckon,  in  the  province  of  N,  I,  A.  B.,  the  son  of  A. 
B,,  and  by  what  name  soever  1  am  called,  of  the  city  of  N,  with  the 
greatest  consent  of  my  mind,  and  witiiout  any  compulsion  urging  me, 
have  put  away,  dismissed,  and  expelled  thee  ;  thee,  I  say,  C.  D., 
the  daughter  of  C.  D.,  by  what  name  soever  thou  art  called,  of  the 
city  of  N,  who  heretofore  wert  my  wife  ;  but  now  I  have  dismissed 
thee  ;  thee,  I  say,  C.  D.,  the  daughter  of  C.  D.,  by  what  name  soever 
thou  art  called,  of  the  city  of  N,  so  that  thou  art  free,  and  in  thine 
own  power  to  marry  whomsoever  ihou  shalt  please  ;  and  let  no  man 
hinder  thee  from  this  day  forward,  even  for  ever.  Thou  art  free, 
therefore,  for  any  man,  and  let  this  be  to  thee  a  bill  of  rejection  from 
me,  letters  of  divorce,  and  a  schedule  of  expulsion,  according  to  the 
law  of  Moses  and  of  Israel. 

Reuben,  the  son  of  Jacob,  witness. 
Eleazer,  the  sm  of  Gilead,  tcitness. 

We  have  a  copy  of  a  bill  of  the  same  kind  in  Buxtorff,  and  nearly 
jn  the  same  words  ;  it  is  therefore  needless  to  transcribe  it,  but  [ 
may  add  the  several  formalities  with  which  it  was  delivered.  Bills 
of  divorce  were  given  either  privately  or  publicly.  When  given 
privatel}',  the  bill  was  sealed  with  the  husband's  seal,  and  was  deliv- 
ered before  two  witnesses  into  the  hand  of  the  wife,  either  by  him- 
self or  by  some  person  deputed  by  him,  or  the  wife  might  depute 
some  person  to  receive  it  ;  and  when  dismissed  she  might,  if  she 
pleased,  carry  the  bill  to  the  sanhedrim  to  be  enrolled  for  preserva- 
tion, as  an  evidence  of  the  transaction.  But  when  the  divorce  was 
public,  the  steps  were  more  numerous  ;  for  they  chose  first  some  pri- 
vate place  to  which  the  Rabbi,  who  conducted  the  business,  resorted 
together  with  two  other  Rabbins,  called  at  the  expense  of  the  pursuer 
as  arbiters,  the  scribe  who  wrote  the  bill,  and  two  witnesses,  who 
saw  it  written,  and  were  to  witness  the  delivery.  If  these  were  sa- 
tisfied that  there  were  legal  grounds  for  divorce,  then  they,  together 
with  the  husband  and  wife,  went  to  the  door  of  the  synagogue,  where, 
after  morning  prayers,  the  presiding  Rabbi  thus  addressed  the  hus- 
band :  Art  thou  N.  about  to  deliver  this  bill  of  divorce  of  thy  own 
free  will  ? — Yes. — Perhaps  thou  hast  bound  thyself  by  some  oath  or 
vow  to  give  it  her  ? — No.-^If  thou  art  bound  by  any    oath,  vow,  or 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  127 

Again  ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  the  ancients ; 
Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but  tliou  shalt  per- 
form to  the  Lord  thy  vows.  But  I  tell  you  :  Swear 
not  at  all  ;  neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  God's  throne  ; 
nor  by  the  earth,  for  it  is  his  footstool  ;  nor  by  Jeru- 
salem, for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  king.  Neither 
shall  ye  swear  by  the  ihead,  for  ye  cannot  make  one 
hair  white  or  black.  But  let  your  word  yes,  be  yes  ; 
and  your  no  be  no  :  for  whatsoever  exceeds  these^ 
comes  from  evil. 

anathema,  I  absolve  thee. — I  never  made  any  thing  of  the  kind. — 
Perhaps  thou  hast  received  something  for  this  libel  :  if  it  repent  thee, 
revoke  it,  and  I  will  find  a  remedy. — I  received  nothing.  I  do  not 
repent. — Didst  thou  ever  say  any  thing  which  might  affect  this  libel^ 
and  render  it  void  ?  No. — After  these  questions,  tiie  presiding 
Rabbi,  having  read  the  bill,  turned  to  the  scribe  who  wrote  it,  and 
said,  Thou  scribe,  didst  thou  write  this  writing  ? — Yes. — Didst  thou 
write  it  at  the  instance  of  the  husband  and  the  wife  ? — Yes, — Did 
the  husband  say  this  to  thee  before  witnesses  ? — Yes. — Dost  thou 
acknowledge  this  to  be  the  same  copy  that  was  written  by  thee  ? — 
Yes. — Then,  turning  to  the  two  witnesses,  he  asked  each  of  them, 
separately,  concerning  their  signatures  :  which  things  being  done,  ho 
turned  to  the  wife  and  asked  her,  if  she  would  accept  the  bill  of  di- 
vorce willingly  ?  To  which,  if  she  assented,  he  then  desired  her  to 
stretch  out  her  hands,  he  himself  delivering  the  writing  to  the  hus- 
band, in  order  to  be  given  to  her,  in  the  following  words  :  "  Behold 
the  bill  of  thy  divorce.  Receive  this  bill  of  thy  divorce.  By  this 
be  thou  divorced  from  me,  and  free  to  give  thyself  to  any  other." 
The  witnesses  before-mentioned  were  desired  to  notice  particularly 
this  part  of  the  transaction,  that  if  there  sliould  be  occasion  they 
might  give  their  evidence :  the  writing  was  again  delivered  to  the 
Rabbi,  who  read  it  aloud  in  the  hearing  of  the  people  who  had  come 
out  of  the  synagoofqe,  and  he  then  addressed  them  in  the  following 
words  :  "  Behold  Rabbi  M.  and  Rabbi  N.  (meaning  the  two  arbiters) 
and  the  others,  who  are  citizens  ofN,  have  discerned,  under  the  pain 
of  anathema,  and  I  also  discern,  that  none  henceforth  come  forward 
to  object  to  this  bill  of  divorce,  unless  it  be  at  present,  when  they 
may  come  forth  and  declare."  If  none  objected,  the  judgment  was 
final,  and  the  Rabbi  who  presided  gave  tlie  libel  a  tear  in  the  form 
of  a  cross,  which  was  called  "  the  rent  of  the  house  of  judgment  ;"' 
kept  it  in  his  possession  for  the  divorced  wife's  interest ;  enjoined  her 
not  to  marry  for  three  months,  that  it  might  be  seen  whether  she 
was  with  child,  and  then  dismissed  the  parties. 

Such  was  the  divorce  when  the  husband  was  the  complaiucr  ;  but 
the  wife  mi^ht  sue  as  well   as  the   husband,  if  she  thought  herself 


128  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  :  An  eye  for  an 
eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.  But  I  say  to  you  :  Re- 
venge* not  an  injury  ;  but  to  him  that  smites  you  on 
the  right  cheek  turn  tlie  other  also  :  and  suffer  him 
that  sues  you  at  law,  for  your  mantlef  to  take  your 
coat  also.  If  one  constrain  you  to  go  one  mile,  go 
with  him  two.  Give  to  him  that  asks  of  you,  and 
from  him  that  would  borrow  of  you,  turn  not  away. 


aggrieved,  and  especially  if  she  disliked  the  person  to  whom  she  had 
been  espoused  at  early  age  by  her  parents.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  the  writing  used  in  her  case,  as  given  by  Maimonides  :  "  In  the  day 
N,  of  the  week  N,  of  the  year  N,  A.  B,,  the  daughter  of  C.  D.,  came 
before  us  and  said,  My  mother  or  my  brethren  deceived  me,  and 
wedded  me,  or  betrothed  me,  when  I  was  a  young  maid,  to  E.  F., 
the  son  of  E.  F.,  but  I  now  reveal  my  mind  before  you,  that  I  will 
not  have  him,  so  that  he  is  free,  and  in  his  own  power  to  marry 
whomsoever  he  shall  please,"  &c. 

Signed  as  the  former  hill  of  divorce. 
See  Buxtorflf's  Synag.  Judaic,  cap.  40.    Lighif.  Heb.  k.  Talm.  Exer.  Matt.  v.  31. 

*  The  original  word  acfKTT'jjj'oi,  signifies  to  oppose  force  to  force, 
to  avenge,  or  requite,  or  to  act  according  to  the  license  afforded  by 
the  law  of  talio,  to  which  Christ  here  alludes.  Campbell  and  Clarke 
translate  the  ^Urs-se, resist  not  the  injurious  or  evil  person.  And 
Clarke  says,  he  is  persuaded  this  is  the  meaning.  Now  little  more 
need  be  said,  than  that  James  and  Peter  are  completely  at  issue  with 
these  Commentators ;  for  they  both  command  us  to  resist  the 
adversary,  or  evil  person,  James  v.  7,  and  1  Peter  v.  9 ;  and  the 
same  Peter  tells  us;  God  resists  the  proud,  1  Peter  v.  5.  The  original 
word  signifies  to  oppose  by  force,  Rom.  xiii.  2,  and  Hesychius  says  it 
implies  to  stand  opposed  in  battle.  It  also  signifies  to  put  the  law  ia 
force  against  the  offender,  see  Septuagint,  Deut.  xix.  16,  18.  This  is 
manifest  from  the  preceding  words,  and  also  from  those  which  follow. 
TertuUian  says,  the  meaning  is,  that  the  injured  should  not  retaliate, 
agreeably  to  Paul,  Rom.  xii.  17,  Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for 
ovil. 

+  Dr.  Clarke,  on  Matt.  v.  40,  says,  Xifcov  signifies  the  upper  gar. 
ment,  and  I/uanov  the  under  garment  :  but  on  Luke  vi.  29,  he  re- 
verses the  statement,  and  in  a  note  from  Bishop  Pearce,  shows  that 
chiton  was  the  tunic  or  vestcoat,  and  himation,  the  outer  coat,  gown 
or  cloak.  The  latter  statement  is  correct,  the  former,  a  mistake. 
Le  Clerc  on  Hammond  affirms,  that  every  one  who  is  not  altogether 
ignorant  of  the  Greek  language,  knows  that  chiton  means  the  tunic 
or  interior  garment,  and  himation,  the  exterior  or  Pallium.  From 
what  Christ  savs  copcerning  soft  or  delicate  raimentj  which  he  calls 


SERMON  QN  THE  MOUNT.  12.9 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  :  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  and  hate  thine  enemy.  But  I  say  to  you  : 
Love  your  enemies,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 
and  pray  for  them  who  despitefuUy  use  and  persecute 
you,  that  ye  may  become  sons*  of  your  Father  in  the 
highest  Heaven  ;  for  he  causes  his  sun  to  rise  on  evil 
and  good,  and  sends  rain  on  just  and  unjust.  If  ye 
love  only  them  who  love  you,  what  reward  can  ye 
expect  ?  Do  not  even  tax-gatherers  and  sinners  in 
like  manner  ?  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only, 
wherem  do  ye  excel  ?  Do  not  even  the  heathen  in 
like  manner  ?  If  ye  do  good  to  them  who  do  good 
to  you,  what  thanks  are  due  to  you  ?  for  sinners  also 
do  the  same.  And  if  ye  lend  to  those  from  whom 
ye  expect  to  receive,  what  thanks  are  due  to  you  ? 
Even  sinners  lend  to  sinners,  expecting  as  much  in 
return.  But  by  loving  your  enemies,  doing  good, 
and  lending  without  mistrust,  your  reward  shall  be 


I/uatt,ov,  Matt.  xi.  8 — 10,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  that  it  was  a 
name  given  to  that  part  of  the  dress  which  might  be  dispensed  with. 
Hence  the  Roman  soldiers  were  called  f^ovoXitwa,  implying,  that 
they  wore  only  the  tunic  in  time  of  war  ;  and  the  common  people, 
"who  had  no  right  to  wear  the  toga,  or  gown,  were  called  tunicat%. 
Matthew  represents  Christ  saying,  "  H  any  sue  thee  for  thy  coat,  let 
liim  have  thy  cloak  also."'  Luke  says,"  forbid  not  him  that  takes 
thy  cloak  to  take  thy  coat  also." — some  say,  Matthew  represents  the- 
contest  about  what  was  most  indispensable;  Luke  about  what  was 
most  valuable.  But  the  probability  is,  that  the  words  have  been 
transposed  in  Matthew. 

*  According  to  the  prevailing  idiom  of  the  Jewish  language,  men 
are  called  sons  of  their  ruling  dispositions,  or  of  the  tendency  of 
their  conduct.  Thus  we  read  of  sons  of  Belial,  sons  of  perdition, 
sons  of  thunder,  sons  of  consolation,  sons  of  the  wicked  one,  sons  of 
God.  The  meaning  here  is  :  Men,  by  the  exhibition  of  the  merciful, 
benevolent,  and  impartial  disposition  of  their  heavenly  Father,  will 
attain  the  name  of  sons,  and  manifest  the  character  of  the  God  of  the 
whole  earth.  Though  men  cannot  be  perfect  in  that  absolute  sense 
in  which  God  is  perfect,  yet  in  their  own  degree  and  nature,  they 
may  be  perfect;  when  their  hearts  are  fully  set  to  do  justly,  love  mer.= 
cy,  and  walk  humbly  with  God.  He  who  acts  as  well  and  as  merc^* 
ful,  as  his  abilities  and  opportunity  will  admit,  is  rrs  oerfert  in  kind,  as^ 
angels  or  ffod?. 

17 


130  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

great,  and  ye  shall  be  sons  of  the  Most  High ;  for  he 
is  kind  to  the  unthankful  and  evil.  Be  ye,  therefore, 
merciful  and  perfect,  as  your  Father  in  the  highest 
Heaven,  is  merciful  and  perfect. 

Be  careful  not  to  perform  your  deeds  of  righteous- 
ness in  the  presence  of  men,  in  order  to  be  seen  by 
them  ;  otherwise  ye  have  no  reward  with*  your  Fa- 
ther, who  is  in  the  highest  Heaven.  Therefore,  when 
you  give  alms,  sound  not  a  trumpet  before  you  as  the 
hypocrites  in  the  synagogues  and  streets,  that  they 
may  have  honour  of  men  :  verily  I  say  to  you  :  They 
have  received  their  reward.f  But  when  ye  give 
alms,  let  not  your  left  hand  know  what  ycXur  right  hand 
does,  that  your  alms  may  be  in  secret ;  and  your  Fa- 
ther, who  sees  in  secret,  will  reward  you. 

When  ye  pray,  be  not  like  the  hypocrites  who  love 
to  pray,  standing t  in  the  synagogues,  and  at  the  cor- 
ners of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  observed  by 
men  :  verily  I  say  to  you,  they  have  their  reward. 
But  when  ye  pray,  enter  into  your  closet,  and,  having 
shut  the  door,  pray  to  your  Father,  who,  though  un- 
seen, sees  in  secret,  and  will  reward  you.  But  ir^ 
prayer,  use  not  tedious  repetitions,  1|  as  the  heathen 

*  The  reward  is  here  said  to  be,  tt^^*,  in  the  presence,  or  laid  up 
with  God,  not  notv  in  the  actual  possession  of  the  person  for  whom  it 
is  reserved.  Hence  there  shall  be  a  future  retribution  for  all  the  sui- 
ferings  and  virtuous  attainments  of  the  righteous,  in  the  present  mode 
of  being.  I  have  rendered  Sinatoc-vvTi,  which  is  certainly  the  true 
reading,  deeds  of  righteousness  ;  for  such  a  latitude  must  be  allowed 
to  this  term;  and  such  extension  of  signification,  it  undoubtedly  has_, 
in  many  places,  in  both  sacred  and  profane  writers. 

+  Some  would  have  us  to  believe,  that  all  men  receive  their  re' 
ward  here,  as  well  as  the  hypocrites.  Such  men  would  make  the 
Master  of  Christians  so  bad  a  logician,  as  to  make  a  distinction  with- 
out a  difference  :  but  their  opinion  is  extravagant,  false,  and  perni- 
cious. It  is  an  excrescence  of  rr'l^ious  fanaticism,  or  an  efferves- 
cense  of  sectarian  zeal,  which  will  soon  evaporate. 

I  Standing  was  the  usual  attitiiHe  of  the  Jews,  in  prayer,  Mark  ix 
25.  Lukexviii.  11,  13,  but  in  cases  of  great  humiliation,  or  earnest- 
ness, they  practised  kneeling,  or  even  entire  prostration,  Deut.  ix.  IS, 

II  The  Battology  here  reproved,  derives  its  name  from  Battus,  a 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  131 

who  think  they  shall  be  accepted  on  account  of  theu' 
lon^  prayers.  Do  not  therefore  imitate  them,  for  your 
Fatlier  knows  what  you  want  before  you  ask.  Pray 
ye,  therefore,  after  this  manner, 

Our  Father*  who  art  in  the  highest  Heaven,!  sane- 
sorry  poet,  who  composed  many  long  hymns,  ill  connected,  and  full 
of  repetitions,  and  often  grovelling  and  mean.  This  folly  is  well  ex- 
posed by  ^scliyliis,  who,  in  one  place,  gives  nearly  a  hundred  ver- 
ses, containing  nothing  but  mere  tautology.  Thus  invoking  the  gods, 
he  proceeds;  (*,  i«,  tw, — s,  f,  «,  «j  «.  Thus  the  priests  of 
.Caal  continued  crying  from  morning  to  noon  :  O  Baal /  hear  us  : 
and  the  Ephesians  cried  for  two  hours  !  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians.  I  have  often  thought  of  this,  when  I  have  heard  ministers 
pass  nearly  an  hour  in  addressing  complimentary  names,  attributes, 
and  phrases  to  the  Deity,  without  attending  to  the  great  design  yf 
prayer.  How  good  the  advice  of  the  wise  man  :  Let  thy  words  be 
few  and  well  ordered. 

*  Our  leather,  AbinUf  was  an  appellatioii  of  the  God  of  Israel, 
common  among  the  Jews,  and  frequently  used  by  Christ.  Malachi 
says,  Have  we^not  all  one  Father?  chap,  ii,  10 — Is  he  not  thy  Father? 
Deut.  xxxii.  6 — Doubtless  thou  art  our  Father,  Isa.  Ixiii.  l6 — One 
Father  of  all,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  nam- 
ed, Ephes.  iv.  6,"j  and  iii.  14,  15.  The  word  our,  says  Chr3'sostom, 
is  joined  to  Father,  to  teach  us,  that,  having  one  common  Father, 
we  should  love  as  brethren.  The  Jews,  says  Lightfoot,  were  accus- 
tomed to  say  :  Let  none  pray  the  short  prayer,  meaning  in  the  singu- 
lar, for  himself  alone.  O  !  what  a  fulness  in  the  phrase,  our  Father  ^ 
and  how  well  adapted  to  inspire  the  true  spirit  of  devotion.  Are  we 
fatherless  here  ?  it  reminds  us  of  an  all-sufficient  Father  in  heaven. 
Are  we  weak  ?  he  is  almighty.  Are  we  poor,  using  this  phrase  in  the 
spirit  of  adoption,  we  look  to  earth,  as  the  lower  department  of  God's 
vast  possessions,  and,  raising  our  eyes  to  the  shining  abodes,  and 
starry  worlds,  we  claim  these  and  all  God's  vast  domains  in  unbound- 
ed expanse,  as  ours  by  right,  birth,  and  adoption  ;  for  he  is  the  Fa- 
ther of  our  spirits,  Heb.  xii.  9  ;-  and  we  are  the  children  of  God  by 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and,  if  children,  then  heirs,  heirs  of  God,  and 
joint  heirs  with    Christ,  Gal.  iii.  26,  Rom.  viii.  if. 

t  The  phrase,  toho  art  in  heaven,  is  sustained  by  the  copies  of 
Matthew's  gospel,  but  unsupported  by  those  of  Luke.  This  phrase, 
however,  was  very  common  among  the  Jews,  and  if,  as  Beausobrc 
affirms,  Christ  took  the  three  first  petitions  of  this  prayer,  from  a 
prayer  called  Kadesh,  or  The  Holy,  in  common  use  among  the  Jews, 
then  we  may  admit,  that  he  adopted  the  phrase,  who  art  in  heaven^ 
from  the  same  usage :  and  this  seems  confirmed  by  the  frequent 
adoption  of  it,  by  our  Lord  himself,  Matt.  vii.  21  ;  x.  32 ;  xi.  25; 
xii.  50  ;  .xv.  13>  xvi.  17;  xviii.  10;  xix,  35  ;  and  Luke  x.  22. 


1^  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNf . 

tified  be  thy  name* ;  thy  reign  comef ;  thy  will  be 

There  is  a  great  difficulty  in  understanding  the  omnipresence  of  the 
Deity,  to  which  both  the  scriptures  and  philosophy  invite  our  atten- 
tion. We  cannot  conceive  of  a  being  possessing  the  power  to  act 
where  it  is  not ;  and  the  scriptures  inform  us  that  the  heaven  of  he«» 
vens  cannot  contain  God,  and  that  whether  we  ascend  to  heaven,  de- 
scend to  hades,  or  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  eiarth,  we  cannot  escape  his 
presence,  1  Kings,  viii,  27,  and  Psalm,  cxxxix.  7,  8.  On  the  other 
hand,  heaven  is  uniformly  described  as  the  throne  and  residence  of 
the  Deity,  throughout  the  Hebrew  scriptures ;  and  this  was  also  a  very 
common  opinion  among  the  ancient  philosophers,  who  believed  God 
managed  the  afiairs  of  the  lower  worlds  by  demons  or  angels.  Noi- 
ls it  possible  for  us  to  unite  the  notion  of  personality  with  essential 
omnipresence  ;  and  every  idea  of  intelligence  involves  the  notion  of 
personality.  Woltzogenius  observes,  that  whenever  God  is  said  to 
be  any  where  but  in  Heaven,  we  are  to  understand  it  not  of  his  es- 
scntial  presence,  but  of  his  efficacy,  operation,  and  omniscience.  This 
may  be  ;  therefore  let  us  adhere  to  the  use  of  scripture  language. 

*  The  name  of  God  signifies  God  himself,  his  attributes  and  worship. 
In  scripture^  the  name  of  a  person  is  often  put  for  the  person  himself, 
Acts  i.  15,  Rev.  iii.  4,  and  xi.  13  ;  also,  Gen.  iv.  26j  Ps.  Ixix.  36, 
and  cxvi.  17,  Isa,  Ivi.  6;  Joel  ii.  32,  Zeph.  iii.  9-  To  sanctify  the 
name  of  God,  is  to  separate  him  from  all  the  idols  of  the  nations,  and 
worship  him  alone,  as  the  only  true  and  living  God ;  to  separate  his 
attributes  from  all  imperfection  of  character,  or  ability  ;  to  fear  and 
love  him  as  the  only  ruler  of  the  universe,  and  eternal  parent  and 
benefactor  of  men  ;  to  rely  on  his  word,  as  true  and  faithful,  and 
confide  in  his  providence  and  unchanging  love  •  to  preserve  the  ut- 
most veneration  for  the  sacred  institutions  of  religion,  and  worship 
him  with  cheerfulness,  reverence,  and  awe  ;  to  think,  speak,  and  act 
as  under  his  immediate  vigilance,  and  accountable  to  the  rectitude 
and  purity  of  his  nature  for  our  wilful  or  perverse  wanderings  from 
the  dictates  of  his  word  or  the  holiness  of  his  character.  The  pray- 
er, therefore,  implies,  May  God  be  every  where  known  in  all  the 
perfections  of  his  glory,  may  sin  and  imperfection  of  moral  character 
be  for  ever  destroyed,  may  ail  false  Worship  and  religion  be  utterly 
abolished,  and  may  all  intelligent  beings  in  heart  and  life,  honour,  love, 
fear,  and  exalt  the  God  of  salvation  for  ever  and  ever. 

t  This  is  to  be  understood,  not  of  the  absolute  kingdom  of  the 
Father,  but  of  the  Mediatorial  kingdom  of  the  Son.  And  as  the  ob- 
ject of  this  kingdom  is  to  reconcile  all  men,  by  restoring  them  to 
purity,  holiness,  and  happiness,  we  pray  :  May  tiiis  reign  of  Christ 
come  ;  may  it  triumph  in  every  nation,  isle,  tribe,  and  tongue  in  the 
globe  earth  ;  may  all  men  receive  it  in  love,  meekness,  and  joy,  and 
every  heart  become  a  throne  for  the  reconciling  God  ;  may  the 
ministry  of  reconciliation  prosper  and  run,  and  bo  glorified,  till 
truth  be  found  without  error,  love  without  dissimulation,  happiness 


•  SEfRMON  ON  THE  MOUN'f.  ISfi 

done*  on  earth,  as  in  heaven.  Give  ns  daily,  the 
bread  sufficientf  for  us  ;  and  forgive  us  our  sins,  for 
we  also|  forgive  all  those  who  have  offended  us ;  and 

without  interruption,  Christianity  without  an  objector,  sin  without  aa 
admirer,  the  heart  of  man  without  an  evil  or  painful  thought,  and  life 
immortalized  in  the  beatitude  of  perfect  heaven,  and  in  the  fulness 
and  love  of  a  redeeming  God. 

*  This  is  the  perfection  of  holiness,  when  the  soul,  contemplating 
the  love,  wisdom,  mercy,  power,  goodness,  truth,  and  unchangeable- 
ness  of  the  Deity,  displayed  in  the  formation,  preservation,  govern- 
ment, instruction,  and  final  salvation  of  all  intelligences,  it  falls  into 
perfect  and  eternal  acquiescence,  saying  with  every  faculty  attuned 
to  the  harmony  of  the  sound  :  Thy  will,  which  is  my  sanctification  ; 
thy  will,  which  is  nly  salvation  ;  thy  free,  benevolent,  irresistible,  and 
unerring  will  be  done. 

t  The  word  cnova-iov,  has  occasioned  great  perplexity  to  interpre- 
ters. The  word  is  nowhere  else  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament, 
in  the  Septuagint  version,  nor  in  any  Greek  author.  Some  think  it 
is  formed  from  another  word  signifying  the  next  day,  or  the  morrow, 
and,  according  to  the  style  of  the  Hebrews,  the  time  to  come.  .Te- 
rome  says,  he  found,  in  a  gospel  of  Matthew,  for  the  use  of  theNa- 
zarenes,  the  Hebrew  word  3Iahar,  which  signifies  the  morrow,  or  time 
to  come,  as  in  Exod,  xii.  14  ;  Josli.  iv.  6  ;  Matt.  vi.  34.  If  this  be 
correct,  the  petition  runs  thus:  Giiw  ns  daily  the  bread  sufficient  for 
our  subsistence,  during  our  lives,  see  Exod.  xvi.  l6  ;  Prov.  xxx.  8, 
and  xxxi.  15  ;  2  Kings,  xxv.  3D  ;  3^ob,  xxxiii.  18  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  6,  8  ; 
and  James  ii.  15.  Wakefield  conjectures  the  word  to  be  formed 
from  the  junction  of  sti  and  ouetav,  the  bread  according  to  our  por- 
tion of  the  inheritance,  Luke  xv.  12,  13.  And  the  Syriac  version 
reads  :  Give  us  daily  the  bread  of  our  necessity,  or  necessary  for  our 
subsistence.  Chr3'sostom,  Theophylact,  and  Basil  explain  the  pas- 
sage, such  bread  as  being  turned  into  the  substance  of  our  bodies, 
wiH  nourish  and  preserve  them.  By  bread,  is  implied,  all  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  as  appears  from  numerous  passages  of  scripture ;  and 
the  petition  includes  all  that  is  needful  for  well-being,  while  being  en- 
dures. 

T  Scarcely  can  there  occur  a  more  awful  thought  to  the  mind, 
tlian  the  idea,  which  this  petition  inspires.  Here  we  are  taught  by 
Jesus,  to  supplicate  God  to  forgive,  because  we  exercise  forgive- 
ness towards  all  who  offend  us  ;  or,  as  Matthew  reads,  to  forgive 
us  as  we  forgive  others.  Now,  if  we  utter  this  request,  while  we 
maintain  a  single  grudge  or  feeling  of  animosity  to  a  single  individual, 
we  either  mock  God,  or  pray  for  our  own  condemnation.  Let  us, 
therefore,  rellect,  and  if  we  feel  oiu'selves  so  unlike  tlio  God  whom 
we  profess  to  adore,  let  us  earnestly  pray  for  his  holy  and  gracioup 
spirit,  to  purge  our  hearts  from  all  envy,  hatred,  and  malicf . 


154  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUN'f . 

lead  us  not  iiito  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil. 
*  #  *    Amen. 


*  T!ie  reader  will  expect  inc  to  give  some  reason  for  leaving  out 
the  doxology,  found  in  most  copies  of  M-Uthew's  gospel,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Lord's  prayer.  Let  the  following  brief  notice  suffice, 
I  do  not  reject  it  because  i\lill,  Wetstein,  and  Griesbach,  have  exclu- 
ded it  from  having  a  place  in  the  sacred  text.  Nor  am  I  led  to  think 
it  unworthy  of  a  plate  in  this  most  excellent  form  ;  but  from  a  compa- 
rison of  the  evid(  nc:;  on  both  sides,  its  authority  becomes  at  least 
very  doubtful,  and  1  hove  made  it  a  rnle  to  admit  nothing  of  a  doubt- 
ful nature  into  the  te.ii  of  ihis  harmony.  1,  The  doxology,  consist- 
ing of  these  words  :  "  For  thiricis  the  kingdom,  arid  the  power,  and 
ihe  glory,  for  cver,''^  is  wanted  in  the  Vatican,  Cambridge,  and 
manj'  other  manuscripts ;  2,  it  is  wanted  in  the  Coptic,  Arabic, 
Saxon  and  Vulgate  versions ;  3,  it  is  wanted  in  Origen,  and  Cypri- 
an in  the  third  century,  and  in  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  and  Gregory 
Nyssen  of  the  fourth,  though  these  Greek  fathers  have  professedly 
and  particularly  commented  on  the  Lord's  prayer  ;  and  it  is  addu- 
ced twice  by  Caesarius,  as  a  part  of  a  Liturgy,  but  not  of  the  scrif)- 
lures  ;  4,  it  is  wanted  in  all  the  Latin  fathers  ;  5,  it  is  totally  want- 
ed in  all  the  copies  of  Luke's  Gospel. 

If  it  be  asked  ;  how  did  this  passage  obtain  a  place  in  the  Syriac, 
Persic,  Armenian,  Gothic  and  Slavonic  versions  in  some  manu- 
■cripts,  and  in  the  comments  of  Chrysostom,  Theophylact,  Euthy- 
mius,  and  Isidore  ?  I  would  answer,  in  the  words  of  Wetstein  :  Sup- 
posing this  to  be  a  part  of  a  Liturgy,  usually  pronounced  by  the 
priest  alone,  at  the  end  of  this  and  other  prayers,  (and  this  was  a  no- 
torious fact,  in  the  Jewish  and  Christian  assemblies  of  the  East,)  it  is 
feasy  to  conceive,  that  transcribers  of  JMatthew's  Gospel,  generally 
used  in  the  East,  would  readily  add  this  doxology  to  the  prayer  ; 
but,  if  it  were  originally  prescribed,  by  our  Lord,  we  cannot  con- 
ceive why  Luke,  the  Evangelist,  the  Greek  Fathers,  and  all  the  La- 
tin churches  and  Fathers  of  the  West,  should  have  failed  to  follow 
their  great  Master. 

t  This  excellent  prayer  stands  as  far  above  any  other  composition 
of  the  kind,  as  Jesus,  its  blessed  author,  is  exalted  above  his  fellow 
men.  Many  learned  men  have  laboured  to  show,  that  the  morality 
taught  in  this  unparalleled  sermon,  had  been  long  in  use  among  the 
heathen  ;  and  that  the  phrases,  which  compose  this  prayer,  were 
derived  from  the  Jewish  Liturgies.  We  could  have  spared  these 
ttarned  triflers  their  unneeded  toil.  What  a  eulogy  would  it  have 
oeen,  to  have  addressed  Cicero,  at  the  close  of  one  of  his  most  con- 
summate and  eloquent  orations,  or  the  apostle  Paul,  at  the  end  of  one 
of  hi3 unrivalled  discourses,  O,  sir!  your  discourse  we  admire,  but 
svery  word  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  dictionary,  and  all  these  words 
f.e  have  been  io  tf.e  habit  of  usicg  for  a  long  time  !  Might  not  the 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  135 

Ask,  and  ye  shall  obtain  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find ;  knock,  and  the  door  shall  be  opened  to  you. 
For  whosoever  asks  shall  obtahi  ;  whosoever  seeks 
shall  find  ;  and  to  every  one  that  knocks,  the  door 
shall  be  opened.  Should  any  of  you  go  to  his  friend 
at  midnight  and  say  ;  Friend,  lend  me  three  loaves^ 

following  retort  well  apply  ?  Granted,  but  you  never  possessed  the 
abilities  of  putting  them  together,  in  this  manner.  In  propriety, 
conciseness,  simplicity,  perspicuity,  arrangement,  and  sublime  devo- 
tion, there  is  nothing  that  approaches  this  prayer  among  the  produc- 
tions of  men;  and  the  most  natural  conclusion  of  a  mind  sufficiently 
qualified  to  judge,  would  be  ;  Here  is  a  God  teaching  men,  how  they 
ought  to  address  a  God.  This  composition,  surrounded  as  it  is,  with 
a  celestial  galaxy  of  sparkling  lights,  moral  sentiments,  too  pure  for 
earthly  origin,  is  sufficient  to  shake  the  pillars  of  infidelity,  and  con- 
vert its  very  sons  into  witnesses  for  Jesus,  and  the  divinity  of  his  re- 
ligion. 

"  As  the  High  Priest,  passing  through  the  holy  place,  when  he  went 
up  into  the  holy  of  holies  to  consult  the  oracle,  heard  the  voice  as  of 
a  man  speaking  from  the  mercy-seat,  so  in  contemplating  this  portion 
of  the  New  Testament,  we  seem  to  have  passed  on  to  the  most  spir- 
itual communication  of  God  to  man.  Freed  from  the  types  and 
shadows  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  rescued  from  the  cloudy  traditions 
and  perversions  of  the  Pharisees,  the  light  of  the  sun  of  truth  breaks 
forth  in  all  its  splendour.  We  hear,  from  an  infallible  oracle,  the  ut- 
ter overthrow  and  refutation  of  all  the  false  glosses  and  rabbinical  cor- 
ruptions, which  had  so  long  perverted  the  spirit  of  the  divine  law. 
The  wickedness  of  the  nation  increased,  in  spite  of  the  learning  of 
their  teachers,  because  those  teachers  were  corrupt,  and  proud,  and 
worldly.  The  church  of  Christ  was  established  in  holiness,  because 
its  first  teachers,  though  ignorant  and  rude,  were  disinterested,  hum- 
ble, and  spiritual.  Rites  and  ceremonies  had  usurped  the  place  of 
the  prayer  of  the  heart,  and  the  homage  of  a  holy  lift  ;  Christ  en- 
forced the  meaning  of  the  law,  and  exalted  devotion  and  virtue 
above  vows  and  sacrifices,  and  all  the  observances  of  superstition. 
The  priests  were  endeavouring  to  make  the  law  worldly,  the  Mes- 
siah  made  it  spiritual.  They  would  have  changed  the  law  of  God  in- 
to an  cnccuragcment  of  the  propensities  of  the  animal  or  inferior  na- 
ture of  man  ;  Christ  taught  them  that  the  entire  conquest  of  this  na- 
ture was  required  by  their  Father  in  heaven.  The  priests  encour- 
aged, under  the  appearance  of  strict  obedience  to  the  law,  ingratitude 
to  parents,  revenge,  facility  of  divorce,  and  other  evils  ;  but  our 
Lord  has  here  given  a  code  of  laws  to  the  world,  obedience  to  which 
will  for  ever  annihilate  all  superstitious  dependence  upon  every  other 
mode  of  aspiring  to  the  approbation  of  the  Almighty,  than  by  aiminj;; 
at  spirituality  of  motive,  and  holiness  of  life. 


136  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

for  a  friend  of  mine  on  a  journey  is  come  to  see  me* 
and  I  have  nothing  to  set  before  him :  though  he 
within  should  answer :  Do  not  disturb  me,  the  door 
is  locked,  and  I  and  my  children  are  in  bed ;  I  cannot 
rise  to  serve  thee  :  yet  i  tell  you,  if  he  will  not  rise 
and  serve  him  because  he  is  his  friend,  because  of  his 
importunity,  he  will  rise  and  give  him  as  much  as  he 
wants.  Moreover,  what  father  among  you  would 
give  his  son  a  stone  when  he  asks  bread  ?  Or  a  ser- 
pent instead  of  a  fish  ?  Or  a  scorpion  when  he  asks 
an  egg  1  If  then,  ye  who  are  evil,  know  to  give  good 
things  to  your  children,  how  much  more  will  your  Fa- 
ther, in  the  highest  Heaven,  give,  good  things  and  a 
holy  spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ? 

Moreover,  when  ye  fast,  be  not  like  the  hypocrites^ 
of  a  sad  countenance  ;  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,that 
their  fasting  may  be  observed  of  men.  Verily  I  say  : 
they  have  received  their  reward.  But  when  you 
keep  a  fast,  anoint  3^our  head,  and  wash  your  face, 
that  3^our  fasting  may  not  be  observed  by  men,  but 
by  your  Father  to  whom,  though  unseen,  nothing  is 
secret,  and  your  Father  will  reward  you. 

Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged ;  condemn  not, 
and  ye  shall  not  be  condemned  :  forgive  and  ye  shall 
be  forgiven.  For  as  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged  ; 
and  if  ye  forgive  nqt  men  their  offences,  neither  will 
your  father  forgive*  your  offences.     Give,  and  there 


*  There  is  a  considerable  similitude  between  some  fish  of  the  eel 
kind  and  some  serpents,  likewise  between  some  stones  and  bread  ; 
and  if  we  except  the  legs  and  tail,  a  white  scorpion,  according  to  the 
account  of  Bochart,  is  veiy  like  an  egg.  The  meaning  is,  the 
])arontal  feelings  of  a  father  would  not  a.Uow  him  to  practise  such  a 
deception  on  ins  hungry  and  needy  son,  wlien  he  preferred  a  re- 
quest of  the.  above  nature,  and  shall  notthe  God  and  Father  of  the 
universe,  when  he  hears  their  cry,  grant  to  his  nc^^dy  suppliant  off 
3})ring,  what  they  require  for  their  subsistence  an(5  liappiness  ? 

t  We  are  taught  by  the  greater  number  of  Christian  preachers, 
that  God  forgives  no  sin.  This  falls  nothing  short  of  calumny  on  the 
conduct  of  God  and  the  testimony  of  scripture.  But  lest  the  charge 
should  appear  without  evidence,  let  it  be   considered,  that  all  who 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  137 

will  be  given  to  you  ;  good  measure,  pressed,  and 
shaken,  and  heaped,  shall  be  poured  into  your  lap  j 
for  with  the  same  measure  you  give  to  others,  ye  shall 
receive  again.  Therefore,  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even*  so  to  them  ;  for 
this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 

Why  behold  the  splinter  in  your  brother's  eye, 
while  ye  perceive  not  the  beam  in  your  own  ?  or, 
how  can  you  say  ;  Hold,  brother,  let  me  take  out  the 
splinter  that  is  in  thine  eye,  whilst  ye  observe  not  the 
beam  in  your  own  ?  Hypocrites,  first  take  the  beam 
out  of  your  own  eyes,  and  then  you  shall  see  clearly 
to  take  the  splinterf  out  of  your  brother's.  Enter  at 
the  strait  gate  ;  for  wide  the  gate  and  broad  the  way 


teach  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  vicarious  sufl'erings,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  represent  the  discharge  of  the  sinner's  debt,  solely  on  account 
of  this  vicarious  payment,  are  clearly  convicted.  Likewise,  all  who 
teach,  that  we  are  fully  recompensed  for  our  moral  conduct  in  this 
life,  or  adequately  punished  in  the  next.  This  latter  class  represent 
the  Deity  as  inexorable,  as  he  is  described  by  the  former.  God 
have  mercy  on  both,  they  know  not  what  they  do  !  Should  the  doc- 
trine of  either  party  be  true,  the  moral  character  of  the  Deity  would 
be  no  longer  worthy  of  imitation,  and,  instead  of  the  scriptures  speak- 
ing the  language  of  love  and  forbearance,  the  very  passage  under 
consideration  would  imply  :  If  ye  punish  not  men  for  their  offences, 
God  will  punish  you  ;  and  another  passage,  selected  from  the  Lord's 
prayer,  would  read  thus :  Punish  us  for  our  sins,  for  we  also  punish 
every  one  who  has  offended  us  !  Let  both  classes  of  teachers,  there- 
fore, desist  from  their  folly,  and  pray  to  the  Lord,  that  the  thoughts 
of  their  hearts  may  be  forgiven. 

*  If  we  were  to  act  agreeably  to  this  golden  rule  of  morality, 
earth  would  be  changed  to  heaven,  paradise  be  restored,  and  the  ta- 
bernacle of  God  be  with  men.  Who  loves  to  be  defamed,  defraud- 
ed, hated,  or  abused  in  character,  person,  or  property?  Not  one  on 
earth.  Then  let  all  do  to  each  other,  according  to  what  they  wish 
to  be  done  in  relation  to  themselves. 

t  This  is  the  rendering  of  Wakefield  ;  and  Hesychius,  says  iar- 
phos  is  a  piece  of  wood,  or  splinter.  The  passage  thus  translated, 
seems  consistenf^^nd  analogous ;  for  there  is  a  propriety  in  compar* 
ing  a  splinter  anc^at'tieam,  which  appears  not  when  a  mote  and  a 
beam  are  contrasted.  Beausobre  says,  the  expression  was  prover- 
bial, and  is  found  in  the  ancient  Jewish  writings,  to  express  a  small 
failing  contrasted  with  enermous  crimes, 

18 


ISB  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNTS 

that  leads  to  destruction,  therefore  many  enter  hy 
it.  But  strait  the  gate*  and  narrow  the  way  that 
leads  to  life,  and  few  there  are  who  find  it. 

Beware  of  false  teachers,  who  come  to  you  in 
sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  are  ravenous  wolves^ 
Every  tree  is  known  by  its  fruiti  Men  do  not  gather 
figs  off  thorns,  nor  grapes  off  a  bramble.  That  is  not 
a  good  tree,  which  yields  bad  fruit ;  nor  is  that  a  bad 
tree  which  yields  good  fruit.  So  every  good  tree 
yields  good  fruit,  and  every  bad  tree,  bad  fruit.  A 
good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart,!  brings 
that  which  is  good ;  and  a  bad  man  out  of  the  bad 
treasure  of  his  heart,  brings  forth  that  which  is  bad-; 
for  out  of  the  fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaks.. 
Therefore,  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 


*  By  this  metaphorical  representation,  our  Lord  describes,  in  an 
easy  and  beautiful  mdnnerj  the  striking  difference  between  that  strict 
morality,  he  had  taught,  in  this  discourse,  and  the  loose  and  formal 
principles  taught  by  the  Jewish  doctors.  By  the  broad  way  and  wide 
gate,  he  represents  how  generally  men  are  disposed  by  pride,  pasj 
sion,  or  worldly  views,  to  follow  the  popular  current  of  opinion^ 
however  erroneous,  and  adopt  that  system,  which  seems  most  calcu- 
lated to  favour  the  bent  of  their  inclinations,  while,  by  the  narrow 
way,  he  shows  what  a  small  proportion  of  mankind  seek  the  truth, 
and  attach  themselves  to  it,  in  faith  and  obedience,  notwithstanding 
every  difficulty  arising  from  within,  or  from  without.  Reader,  the 
entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  is  so  strait,  that  you  can  never 
enter,  till  you  deposite  without  the  gate,  every  unholy  desire  and 
passion  of  the  soul,  every  burden  of  an  earthly  and  selfish  nature, 
and  in  the  very  act  of  entering,  experience  such  a  change,  as  will  be 
to  you  the  beginning  of  months.  This  gate  is  too  strait,  says  Eras- 
mus, to  admit  any  that  are  swollen  with  the  glory  of  this  life,  or  ela- 
ted, and  lengthened  out  by  pride,  distended  by  luxury,  or  laden  with 
the  fardels  of  riches.  None  can  pass  but  men  stripped  of  worldly 
lusts,  who  have  put  off  the  flesh,  and  become,  as  it  were,  emaciated 
to  spirits  ;  therefore  few  seek  to  enter.  These  are  hard  things,  who 
will  hear  them  ?  May  God  open  the  ear,  incline  the  heart,  and  save  the 
soul  of  the  reader.  The  broad  way  proved  the  way  of  destruction  to 
the  Jews,  in  a  signal  manner ;  it  has  ever  been  the  path  to  ruin  : 
while  the  narrow  way  of  truth  and  Christian  duty,  is  the  path  of  life. 
He  that  believes,  has  life,  and  shall  have  it  more  abundantly. 

t  Our  Lord  has  elsewhere  said  ;  Make  the  tree  good,  and  the 
fruit  shall  be  good  also.     Nothing  less  than  a  renewed  heart,  filled 


SECTION  THIRTY-FIRST, 

A  Leper  is  cleansed. 

Now  when  Jesus  had  pronounced  all  these  sayings* 
in  the  hearing  of  the  people,  they  were  astonished  at 
liis  doctrine  ;  and  great  ^multitudes  followed  him  as 
he  came  down  from  th^  mount.*  But  as  he  was 
about  to  enter  into  Capernaum,  Lo  !  there  met  him  a 
man,  covered  with  leprosy,t  who  seeing  Jesus,  pros- 

with  divine  love,  can  produce  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  in  either 
minister  or  people  ;  but  as  we  cannot  judge  the  heart,  we  mustabid^ 
by  the  direction  of  our  Master.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  thtm. 
*  According  to  the  rule  of  Chemnitius,  and  Doddridge,  that 
when  one  of  the  Evangelists  is  explicit,  and  the  others  indefinite,  as 
to  the  time,  we  ought  to  follow  the  arrangement  of  the  former,  1 
have  preferred  the  order  of  Matthew,  who  places  this  miracle,  imme- 
diately after  the  sermon  on  the  Mount,  whilst  Jesus  was  on  his 
way  to  Capernaum.  Newcorae,  Lightfoot,  and  Townsend,  place 
the  cure  of  the  leper  after  the  cure  of  Peter's  mother-in-law,  whilst 
Christ  was  on  a  tour  through  Galilee ;  but  Doddridge,  M'Knight, 
Chemnitius,  and  Priestley  follow  the  order  here  adopted. 

Townsend  seems  deeply  offended  at  Michaelis  for  saying  i 
"  Mark  and  Luke  relate  this  fact  on  a  totally  different  occa- 
sion, because  they  were  unacquainted  with  the  time,  and  Luke  eveo 
with  the  place  where  it  happened."  But  there  is  no  reasonable 
blame  attached  to  this  opinion ;  for  Luke  says,  the  cure  of  the  leper 
Jiappened,  when  Jesus  was  in  one  of  their  cities,  which  is  a  very  in- 
definite expression,  and  indeed  seems  to  indicate,  that  he  did  not 
know  when,  or  where,  the  miracle  was  performed.  Moreover,  no 
leper  was  allowed  to  enter  one  of  the  cities,  because  of  the  contar 
gious  nature  and  uncleanliness  of  his  disease.  It  is  altogether  suffi- 
cient for  the  design  of  the  miracle  and  our  faith,  to  be  assured  that 
such  an  astonishing  miracle  was  wrought,  and  that  the  fact  was  so 
powerfully  attested.  Non-essential  differences  will  never  injure  the 
testimony  of  honest  and  adequate  witnesses,  unless  we  burden  theic 
testimony  by  the  ill-judged  weight  of  plenary  inspiration. 

t  The  leprosy  takes  its  name  from  wtt/j,  a  scale,  because  it  mani- 
fests itself,  by  scaly  patches  on  the  skin,  of  a  shining  reddish,  livid, 
or  white  colour,  which  being  easily  detached,  leave  an  excoriation, 
which  discharges  a  watery,  and  often  a  bloody  humour,  till  a  new 
crustatioTi  is  formed. — It  is  a  highly  contagious,  loathsome,  and 
greviously  itching  disease,  which  frequently  bids  defiance  to  even  the 
most  skilful  medical  practice.  The  Jews  said  of  leprosy,  it  is  the 
finger  of  God  ;  tiierefore,  they  looked  only  to  God  for  a  cure,  2 
Kings  v.  3,  7,  27,  and  Matt.  xi.  5.  For  the  Scriptural  account  of 
tijjs  disease,  read  Levit.  xiii.  and  xiv.    Both  Jews  and  Gentiles  con" 


140  A  LEPER   IS    CLEANSED. 

trated*  himself,  saying :  Master,!  if  thou  will,  thou 
canst  make  me  clean.  Then  Jesus,  moved  with  com- 
passion, stretched  out  his  hand  and  touched t  him, 

sidered  leprosy  an  expressive  emblem  of  sin,  beginning  with  a  spot, 
from  a  hidden  infection,  but  soon  spreading  its  contagion  through  the 
whole  constitution,  and  manifesting  its  pollution  over  the  whole  body 
of  man.  Hence,  the  person  was  regarded  as  unclean,  and  unfit  for 
the  company  of  others. 

*  The  word,  ir^os-xursw,  frequently  translated  worship,  in  the  Eng- 
lish Bible,  properly  signifies  to  prostrate  oneself,  as  a  profession  of 
profound  respect,  according  to  the  manner  of  thfe  Eastern  nations. 
Hence  Luke,  by  far  the  best  Grecian  of  the  Evangelists,  gives  the 
periphrasis,  jTa/Zirtg"  on  Ms  face:  and  Hesychius  and  Phavorinus  ren- 
der the  word  by  TpoffTriTrra-,  to  prostrate^  which  is  the  word  used  by 
Luke  V.  8,  to  express  the  homage  of  Peter.  The  word  takes  its  ori- 
gin from  the  fmoning  of  a  dog,  and  signifies  the  adulation,  reve- 
rence, or  homage  of  one  person  to  another,  however  manifested  ac- 
cording to  the  customs  of  the  times  or  countries,  where  peculiar  usa- 
ges obtain.  The  believers  in  the  Deity  of  Jesus,  have  endeavoured 
to  press  the  use  of  this  term  into  their  service,  as  evidence  that 
Christ  received  Divine  worship,  but  this  is  a  great  mistake :  and  so 
weak  evidence  is  calculated  to  bring  an  opinion  into  disrepute. 
The  whole  congregation  of  Israel  worshipped  King  David,  1  Kings 
i.  23  ;  Abigail  bowed  herself  to  the  ground  before  David,  1  Sam. 
XXV.  23  ;  tlie  Amalekite  fell  to  the  earth  and  did  him  obeisance,  2 
Sam.  i.  5  ;  Mephibosheth  fell  on  his  face  and  did  him  reverence  ; 
Saul  bowed  with  his  face  to  the  ground  before  Samuel,  1  Sam.  xxviii. 
14  ;  Obadiah  fell  on  his  face  before  Elijah,  1  Kings  xviii.  7  ;  and  Nebu- 
chadnezzar fell  on  his  face  before  Daniel,  Dan  ii,  46.  This  opinion, 
therefore,  of  divine  homage  being  implied  in  the  term,  should  be  for 
ever  abandoned. 

t  Another  circumstance,  thought  to  be  favourable  to  the  notion  of 
Christ's  Deity,  is  the  compellation  by  which  he  is  here,  and  else- 
where addressed.  The  word  Lord,  put  so  frequently  into  the  mouths 
of  those  who  address  Jesus,  by  the  English  translators,  has  had  a 
powerful  efl'ect  in  impressing  a  superstitious  veneration  which  was 
never  intended  by  the  sacred  writers.  The  word  Adoni  in  Hebrew, 
ICurios  in  Greek,  Dominus  in  Latin,  Monsieur  in  French,  and  Mas- 
ter or  Sir  in  English,  are  words  wholly  synonymous,  and  very  suita- 
ble for  respectful  address ;  and  in  cases  where  the  particular  name 
of  the  individual  is  not  known,  the  only  appellation  in  our  power ; 

hence,  the  appropriate  lines  of  Martial : 

Cum  te  non  nossem,  domimim,  regejnquevocaham, 
Cum  bene  te  novi,  jam  mihi  Prisons  e?-is. 

I  By  the  Jewish  law,  any  person  who  touched  a  leper,  was  pro- 
nounced unclear.     This  was  a  prudential  and  advisatory  precept. 


A  LEPER  IS   CLEANSED.  141 

saying  :  I  will ;  be  thou  cleansed ;  and  immediately 
his  leprosy  departed.  And  Jesus  charged  him,  say- 
ing :  Tell  no  man,*  but  go,  show  thyself  to  the 
priest,  and  present  the  offering  which  Moses  com- 

which  the  Master  of  Christians  readily  dispensed  with,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  benevolence,  as  he  had  done,  on  former  occasions,  with  the 
solemnity  of  the  Sabbath:  yet  the  eame  Jesus,  who  departed  from 
the  letter  of  the  Jewish  law,  in  trivial  matters,  strictly  enjoins  obedi- 
ence, in  matters  of  importance,  and  where  moral  duty  was  involved. 
Go,  says  he  to  the  leper,  present  thine  offering,  according  to  the 
commandment  of  Moses.  This  single  act  of  Christ  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  attest  his  claims  to  the  divine  authority  of  his  doctrine. 

*  The  command  of  Christ  to  the  man  whom  he  had  cleansed: 
Tell  no  man,  has  occasioned  much  conjecture  among  the  Commen- 
tators. Out  of  a  great  variety  of  opinions,  let  the  following  suffice. 
1.  As  the  leper  was  forbidden  social  intercourse  on  account  of  his  un- 
cleanness,  it  is  very  probable  that  Jesus  was  either  so  far  ahead  of 
the  multitude,  on  his  way,  or  aside  from  them,  as  to  allow  the  ap- 
proach of  the  leper ;  and  though  the  miracle  might  have  been  seen 
by  many,  yet  it  was  not  likely  to  be  carried  to  the  ears  of  the 
priests  before  the  man  should  arrive  himself  with  his  offering ;  and 
if  the  man  did  not  relate  the  manner  of  his  being  cleansed,  the 
priest  would  not  be  prejudiced,  so  as  to  deny  the  reality  of  the 
cure.  2.  The  multitudes  which  attended  our  Lord,  had  now  become 
so  great,  and  every  new  miracle,  adding  increased  attention,  Christ 
might  be  unwilling  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  the  existing  govern- 
ment, which  might  have  been  urged  to  destroy  him,  and  thereby,  in 
some  measure,  defeat  the  ends  of  his  mission :  the  instruction  of 
mankind  and  the  confirmation  of  their  faith.  3.  Jesus  would  rather 
leave  the  Jews  to  dr^^w  their  conclusions,  from  the  variety  and  im- 
portance of  his  mil  Licles,  the  excellence  of  his  doctrine,  and  the  pu- 
rity and  benevolence  of  his  life,  than  from  any  verbal  report  of  his 
divine  Authority,  4,  Had  the  proselytism  of  the  Jews  become  gene- 
ral, they  might  have  proclaimed  him  King,  and  thus  the  Gentiles, 
supposing  it  a  national  artifice,  might  have  rejected  him  ;  and  the 
existing  governors,  in  conjunction  with  the  Roman  power,  have  has- 
tened the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  nation,  on  account  of  an  act, 
which  Jesus  could  not  justify,  nor  the  Divine  providence  sustain. 
5.  Besides  tiiese,  the  long  train  of  coinciuences,  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  prophetic  character  of  the  Messiali,  and  lay  the  foundation 
on  which  the  mighty  fabric  of  the  Christian  faith  should  be  built,  re- 
quired time,  and  forbid  too  great  acceptance  in  the  world.  6.  Ac- 
cording to  tiie  parable,  Luke  xix.  12,  Jesus  must  go  into  a  far  coun- 
try to  receive  a  kingdom,  which  the  wisdom  of  God  declined  giving 
him,  till  he  finished  his  mediatorial  commission  on  earth  and  ascended 
up  on  high,  Phil.  ii.  7 — 11  ',  Actsii,  32 — 36.     The  season,  therefore, 


14^  A  LEPER  IS   CLEANSED. 

manded  for  a  testimony*  to  them.  But  departing,  he 
began  to  pubUsh  many  things ;  and  the  report  spread 
abroad,  so  that  great  multitudes  were  continually  col- 
lecting, to  hear  him  and  to  be  healed  of  their  disea- 
ses. Wherefore,  Jesus  being  no  longer  able  to  enter 
the  city  openly,  continually  withdrew  into  desert  pla- 
ces, and  prayed.f 

of  Christ's  humiliation,  designed  for  our  instruction  and  examplcj 
could  not  admit  of  too  great  popularity,  or  worldly  honours. 

*  The  testimony  here  intended,  may  admit  of  a  twofold  inter- 
pretation, 1 .  The  testimony  of  the^priest,  that  the  man  was  cured  of 
his  leprosy,  would  entitle  him  to  re-enter  the  city,  and  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  social  life.  2.  The  information  communicated  by  the 
man,  would  be  a  testimony  to  the  priests,  and  through  them,  to  the 
people,  that  Jesus  was  the  promised  Messiah. 

t  Retirement  and  prayer  are  indispensable  to  the  duty  and  happi- 
ness of  man :  and  without  them,  it  is  impossible  to  maintain  the 
divine  life  in  the  human  soul.  Though  this  passage  proves  that  Jesus 
was  wholly  a  dependant  being,  for  otherwise,  his  secret  prayers 
would  have  been  totally  inconsistent  and  unmeaning,  yet  it  must  be 
admitted  by  all,  that  if  ever  there  existed  a  being  on  earth,  who 
could  have  omitted  this  duty  with  safety,  that  being  was  the  anointed 
of  Jehovah,  on  whom  the  spirit  of  the  Almighty  had  been  so  largely 
poured,  yet,  hear  it,  O  ye  prayerless  Christians  !  Jesus  prayed  pub- 
licly, privateli/,  And  secretly.  May  God  strike  conviction  on  the 
hardened,  dead,  unfeeling,  and  ungrateful  hearts  of  men  ;  and  grant 
them  that,  without  which  it  is  Impossible  to  live  35  a  Christian,  or 
enjoy  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  I  mean  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  sup^ 
plication.  This  is  the  chain  that  binds  God  and  the  human  soul  to- 
gether 5  the  breath,  the  food  of  .the  spiritual  man. 


SECTION  THIRTY-SECOND. 

Cure    of  the  Centurion's  servant. 

Now  the  servant  of  a  certain  Centurion  who  was 
dear  to  his  master,  was  sick  of  a  palsy,  and  about  to 
die  ;  and  the  Centurion  being  informed  of  Jesus, 
sent*  elders  of  the  Jews  to  entreat  him  to  come  and 
heal  his  servant.  These  coming  to  Jesus,  earnestly 
besought  him,  saying:  He  is  worthy  of  this  favour; 
for  he  Joves  our  nation,  and  he  built  our  synagogue. 


CURE  OP  THE  centurion's  SERVANT*  143 

Jesus  said :  I  will  go  and  heal  him.  But  when  he  was 
not  far  from  the  house,  the  Centurion  sent  friends  to 
him,  saying:  Master,  trouble  not  thyself;  for  I  am 
not  worthy  that  thou  shouldst  come  under  my  roof; 
nor  did  I  esteem  myself  worthy  to  come  into  thy 
presence ;  only  speak,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed 
by  the  word.*  For  even  I,  who  am  under  the  au- 
thority of  others,  having  soldiers  under  me,  say  to 
one,  Go,  and  he  goes;  to  another,  Come,  and  he 
comes ;  and  to  my  servant,  Do  this,  and  he  does  it. 
Jesus  hearing  these  sayings,  admired  him ;  and  turn- 
ing, said  to  the  multitude  who  followed,  I  assure  you, 
I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  even  in  Israel.  Then 
Jesus  said ;  Go,  be  it  done  for  himf  according  to  his 
faith.  And  the  messengers  returned  to  the  house, 
and  found  the  servant  weU. 

*  The  reading  here  adopted  is  that  of  Griesbach,  supported  by 
almost  every  copy  of  Luke's  Gospel,  and  the  best  copies  of  Mat- 
thew's ;  consequently  the  reading  of  the  English  Bible  here,  is  either 
unmeaning  or  unsupported. 

Here  is  one  of  the  brightest  examples  of  humble  vital  faith,  found 
in  the  whole  volume  of  the  sacred  records.  This  Centurion,  as  the 
name  implies,  was  a  Roman  soldier,  having  the  command  of  a  hun- 
dred men  ;  and  though  only  a  proselyte  of  the  gate,  this  narrative 
bespeaks  him  fuller  of  faith  and  good  works,  than  any  of  the  Phari- 
sees, who  boasted  of  their  membership,  in  the  strictest  sect  of  that 
people,  who  were  called  by  the  name  of  Israel's  God.  I,  says  he,, 
am  also  like  you,  a  man  under  the  direction  of  another,  but  possess- 
ing full  influence  over  those  subjected  to  my  control,  can  speak  and 
it  is  done  :  so,  thou  who  art  subject  to  the  God  of  heaven,  yet  hold- 
ing, by  his  delegation,  power  and  authority  to  demand  obedience 
from  all  terrene  existences,  canst  as  easily,  by  a  single  word,  heal  the 
diseased,  and  control  the  powers  of  nature.  In  all  probability,  he 
had  been  informed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  how  Jesus  spoke, 
and  the  wind  and  sea  obeyed ;  and  he  drew  the  like  conclusion  con- 
cerning his  power  over  diseases,  of  which  Capernaum  had  witnessed 
already  some  remarkable  instances. 

t  I  have  here  changed  the  address,  from  the  second  person  to  the 
third,  for  the  sake  of  preserving  strict  uniformity  in  the  narrative. 
Some  have  doubted  whether  the  account  of  the  Centurion's  ser- 
vant related  by  Matthew  and  Luke,  with  some  difference,  refer  to 
the  same  person.  The  chief  objection  is :  Matthew's  centurion, 
comes  in  person  to  Jesus,  but  Luke's  sends  the  Elders  of  the  Jew^. 


SECTION  THIRTY-THIRD. 

Mission  of  the  Twelve. 

And  they  went  into  a  house,  but  the  multitude 
crowded  together  so  fast,  that  they  were  unable  to 
eat  bread.  And  when  his  kinsmen  heard,  they  went 
out  to  secure  him,  for  they  said  :  He  is  in  an  ecstacy. 
But  beholding  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved  with 
compassion  for  them,  because  they  were  scattered 
an(i  neglected,  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Then 
he  said  to  his  disciples  :  The  harvest  is  plenteous,  but 
the  labourers  are  few ;  pray,  therefore,  that  the  owner 
of  the  harvest  may  send*  labourers  into  the  harvest. 

The  difl'erence  between  the  two  Evangelists,  is  not  sufficient  to  au- 
thorize the  opinion  of  two  separate  cures,  performed  on  two  persons 
where  there  should  occur  so  many  striking  coincidences.  Le  Clerc 
adduces  the  following  Jewish  proverb  :  The  messenger  of  any  man 
is  as,  or  equal  to,  the  man  himself.  Hence  Matthew  relates  that  to  be 
done  by  the  Centurion  himself,  which  he  performed  by  the  mediation 
of  others.  This  mode  of  writing  is  common  to  all  historians,  with- 
out any  imputation  on  their  correctness.  This  method  has  been 
adopted  by  Matthew  in  other  instances;  where  there  can  exist  no 
doubt :  for  he  tells  us,  xi.  3,  that  John,  who  was  then  shut  up  in  pri- 
son, sent  two  of  his  disciples  to  Jesus,  and  said  to  him.  The  same 
mode  of  writing  is  adopted  xxvii.  19,  where  Pilate's  wife  is  made  to 
speak  in  the  first  person  through  the  medium  of  a  messenger.  Thus 
also,  Mark  x  35,  causes  James  and  John  to  prefer  in  person  the  re- 
quest, which  was  presented  by  their  mother,  and  not  by  themselves, 
Matthew  xx.  20.  Thus  Jesus  is  said  to  baptize,  John  iv.  1  ;  Pilate  to 
scourge  Jesus,  John  xix.  1  ;  and  God  to  do  what  he  did  by  his  mes- 
sengers. Gen.  xvi.  13;  xviii.  1  ;  Ex.  xx.  1.  Hence  Grotius,  New- 
come,  Le  Clerc,  Doddridge,  Lightfoot,  and  Michaelis,  consider  the 
Bcti, aiives  of  Luke  and  Matthew  descriptive  of  the  same  event, 
which  happened  according  to  the  arrangement  of  Luke  vii.  1. 

*  The  three  Evangelists  unite  in  representing  Jesus  as  about  en- 
tering Capernaum,  when  the  Centurion  applied  to  him  for  the  cure  of 
his  servant.  Matt.  viii.  5,  Mark  ii.  1,  Luke  vii.  1.  Luke  says  the 
next  day,  he  went  to  Naum,  Luke  vii.  11  ;  and  Matthew  xi.  1,  says, 
When  Jesus  had  finished  instructing  his  disciples,  he  departed  thence 
io  preach  in  their  cities.  Besides,  according  to  Mark,  who  omits 
the  sermon  on  the  mount,  the  first  thing  that  occurred  after  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Twelve,  was  their  going  into  a  house,  Mark  iii.  20  ; 
at  which  time,  the  multitudes  had  become  so  great  and  urgent,  the 
Pharisees  and  Herodians  so  incensed,  and  his  relations  so  alarmed,  a? 


MISSION    OF    THE    TWELVE.  140 

Then  having  called  to  him  his  twelve  disciples,  he 
§ave  them  power  and  authority  over  all  the  demons,  to 
expel  unclean  spirits,  and  to  heal  all  diseases  and  in- 
firmities. And  tlius  instructing  them,  he  sent  them 
forth  by  two  and  two,*  saying  :  Go  not  to  the  Gentiles, f 
nor  enter  a  city  of  the  Samaritans,  but  go  rather  to  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  stock  of  Israel.  And  as  ye  go,  pro- 
claim :  The  reign  of  the  highest  heaven  draws  nigh. 
Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  lepers,  expel  demons, |  freely  ye 
have  received;  freely  give.  Take  nothing  for  the  jour- 
ney except  only  a  stalf.  Provide  no  gold,  nor  silver, 
nor  brass  in  youv  girdles,  nor  a  travelling  script,  nor 
bread,  nor  two  coats  or  pairs  of  shoes,  nor  stafi*;^  for  the 
workman  is  worthy  of  his  maintenance.  Therefore^ 
into  whatsoever  city  or  village  ye  enter,  inquire  who  in 
it  is  worthy, jj  and  abide  with  him  till  ye  leave  the  place. 

to  excite  apprehensions  of  an  insurrection  or  commotion  which  might 
lead  to  a  suspension  or  perhaps  a  termination  of  Christ's  public  minis- 
try ;  therefore  the  twelve  were  instructed  privately,,  and  commis- 
sioned to  go  forth,  as  eye-witnesses  of  the  divine  mission  and 
doctrines  of  Jesus. 

*  By  sending  out  the  disciples  in  this  manner,  they  were  compe- 
tent witnesses,  according  to  the  Jewish  law,  Vv^hich  required  the 
testimony  of  two.  Their  diflierent  gifts  and  dispositions,  would 
modulate  their  own  conduct,  and  invigorate  their  ministerial  ser- 
vices. 

t  The  reason  of  this  restriction,  was,  the  regard  God  showed 
Israel,  as  his  covenant  people.  Ex.  19.  6.  Therefore  the  Gospel 
was  first  preached  to  the  lost  sheep  of  Israel,  to  show  <hat  God  hates 
putting  away ;  and  to  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  avouching 
Jehovah,  as  their  God  ;  under  the  new,  as  well  as  under  the  old 
dispensation.  But  when  they  rejected  the  Son,  they  were  rejected, 
and  the- gospel  was  preached  to  the  Gentiles.  Luke  9A.  47;  Acts 
13.  46. 

j:  I  have  rejected  the  phrase;  ^^  raise  the  dead,^^  because  it  is 
unsupported  by  the  collateral  passages  of  Mark  and  Luke,  and  not 
well  sustained  by  the  MSS.  and  versions  of  Matthew. 

§  What  the  Evangelists  say  about  buying  or  carrying  staves,  is 
thus  reconciled.  According  to  Matthew  and  Luke  Jesus  prohibited 
the  apostles  to  buy  any  thing,  even  a  staff;  according  to  Mark,  he 
suffered  them  to  take  a  staff,  if  they  previously  possessed  one. 

II  The  disciples  were  commanded  to  inquire  concerning  the  cha- 
racter and  dispositions  of  jiersons,  before  they  should  enter  into  acts 

19 


14j(}  mission  of  the  twelve* 

And  when  ye  enter  a  bouse,  salute  it,  saying:  Peace 
be  to  this  family ;  and  if  a  son  of  peace  be  there  and 
the  family  be  worthy,  your  peace  shall  rest  on  them,  if 
not,  your  peace  shall  return  to  you  again.  But  abide 
in  one  house  eating  and  drinking  such  things  as  it  can 
afford,  and  go  not  from  house  to  house.  Wheresoever 
they  will  not  receive  you  nor  regard  your  w^ords,  when 
ye  leave  that  house,  or  city,  shake  off  the  dust  of  your 
feet,*  saying  :  E\  en  the  dust  of  your  streets  that  cleaves 
to  us,  we  wipe  off  for  a  testimony  against  you ;  notwith- 
standing be  ye  sure  that  the  reign  of  God  draws  nigh. 
Verily,  I  say  to  you  :  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the 
land  of  Sodom  and  Gromorrah,  than  for  that  city,  in  a 
day  of  Judgment.f 

of  familiarity  or  friendship:  and  their  visiting  from  house  to  house, 
was  strictly  forbidden.  The  minister  that  disregards  this  advice,  will 
soon  perceive,  that  just  as  his  unlimited  familiarity  increases,  his 
usefulness  diminishes. 

*  To  wipe  or  shake  off  the  dust,  was  an  ancient  usage,  implying 
detestation.  When  the  Jews  passed  into  a  foreign  country,  they 
shaked  their  garments  and  wiped  their  feet  when  about  to  enter  the 
border  of  the  holy  land.  The  Apostles  manifested  the  rejection  of 
tiie  Jews,  by  this  act  of  shaking  off  the  dust,  to  intimate  that  they 
were  now  on  a  level  with  the  heathen.  Acts  13.  51 ;  and  18.  6 ; 
and  Matt.  18.  17- 

t  From  this  awful  passage  we  learn,  that  sin  is  not  estimated 
merely  by  its  illegal  nature  and  magnitude,  but  also  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  sinner.  In  the  day  of  judgment,  those  who  have  re- 
jected Christ,  by  neglecting,  despising,  or  disavowing  his  religion, 
will  be  condemned  to  severer  punishments,  than  even  the  Sodomites, 
those  horrid  monsters  of  unnatural  crime.  Peter  and  Jude  say,  God 
turned  the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  into  ashes,  and  set  them 
forth,  as  an  example  to  them  that  would  afterwards  live  ungodly. 
The  destruction  of  Sodom  by  fire,  was  an  example  of  that  second 
death  to  which,  at  the  day  of  judgment,  all  the  impenitent,  ungodly 
and  infidel  world  shall  be  condemned.  The  Lord  Jesus  will  with- 
di'aw  himself  and  his  followers  from  the  earth  ;  the  heavens  or 
atmosphere  will  rain  down  fire ;  the  internal  volcanic  treasures  of 
fire,  shall  burst  forth ;  and  the  wicked  shall  find  themselves,  like 
the  Sodomites,  ingulphed  in  flames  that  shall  burn  to  the  lowest 
Hell,  and  consume  them,  leaving  them  neither  root  nor  branch;  nor 
shall  there  be  found  for  them  a  place  an}'  more  at  all. 

Alas !  for  the  irreligious  moralists,  for  all  deists,  and  unbelievers, 
and  all  merely  nominal  christians.    Nothing  awaits  them  but  black- 


MISSION   OF  THE   TWELVE,  147 

Behold  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  among  wolves,  be 
ye  therefore  prudent  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves. 
But  beware  of  men :  for  they  will  deliver  you  to  the 
tribunals  and  scourge  you  in  their  Synagogues.*  and  ye 
shall  be  brought  before  governours  and  kings,  on  my 
account,  that  ye  may  be  my  witnesses  to  them  and  to 
the  Gentiles.  But  when  they  shall  arraign  you  be  not 
solicitous  how,  or  what  ye  shall  speak  ;  for  what  ye 
should  say  shall  be  suggested  to  you,  at  that  very  mo- 
ment. For  ye  shall  not  be  the  speakers,  but  the  spirit 
of  your  Father  will  speak  by  you.  A  brother  will  con- 
sign a  brother  to  death,  and  a  father  a  child  ;  and  chil- 
dren  will  rise  against  their  parents,  and  procure  their 
death  :  and  for  my  name,  ye  shall  be  hated  universally ; 
but  he  that  perseveres  to  the  end,  shall  be  saved. 
Therefore,  when  they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  to 
another ;  for  verily  I  say  to  you,  ye  shall  not  have 
passed  through  the  cities  of  Israel  before  the  son  of  mai^ 
come.f 

It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  to  be  as  his  teacher,  and 
for  the  servant  to  be  as  his  master.  If  they  called  the 
master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  liow  much  mwe  his 
family.  Therefore  fear  them  not :  whatever  I  have  told 
you  in  the  dark,  publish  in  the  light,  and  what  has  been 
whispered  in  the  ear,  proclaim   from  the  house-tops, 

ness  and  darkness  for  ever !  The  punishment  of  burning  to  death, 
was  the  severest  in  the  Jewish  law,  but  the  despiser  of  Christ  and 
his  Gospel  shall  be  adjudged  to  a  still  severer  destruction,  Heb.  2.  2, 
and  18.  29;  for  to  him  the  lingering  torments  of  Hell,  will  terminate 
in  a  public  execution  of  soul  apd  body,  in  the  lake  of  fire,  which  is. 
the  second  death. 

*  Wetstein  has  produced  examples  of  men  being  scourged  in  the 
Synagogues  of  the  Jews,  where  they  held  a  kind  of  religious  tribunal. 
Acts  22.  19;  Matt.  23.  34.  The  apostles  were  actually  brougiit 
before  governors,  rulers,  and  kings,  according  to  this  prediction. 
Thus  Paul  before  Festus,  Felix,  Agrippa  ;  John  and  Peter  before 
Nero  ;  and  others  before  the  kings  of  Parthia,  Scythia,  and  India. 

t  The  coming  of  the  Son  of  man,  here  implies  the  same  as  that 
mentioned  Mat.  24,  27,  37,  39,  Luke  18.  8.  But  as  every  signal 
interposition  of  God  was  called  a  coming  of  God,  in  the  style  of  the 
Jews,  so  the  descent  of  the  spirit,  and  the  overthrow  of  Jerusalem, 
might  be  fiUy  denominated,  comings  of  Christ. 


148  MISSION    OF   THE    TWELVE. 

Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
acknowledge  before  the  angels  and  my  Father,  who  is 
in  the  highest  heaven  :  but  whosoever  denies  me  before 
men,  him  will  the  Son  of  man  disown,  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  his  holy  angels.  Fear  not,  my  friends, 
them  who  can  kill  the  body,  but  after  this  can  do  no 
more ;  for  they  are  not  able  to  kill  tlie  soul.  JBut  I 
shall  warn  you  whom  ye  ought  to  fear ;  rather  fear  him 
who,  after  having  killed,  is  able  and  has  authority  to 
cast  into  Gehenna,*  and  destroy  both  soul  and  body.  I 

*  Gehenna  was  originally  tlie  name  of  a  valley  southeast  of 
Jerusalem,  where  the  idolatrous  rites  of  Moloch  were  performed, 
but  which  was  made  the  most  desecrated  place  for  execution  of  the 
vilest  criminals,  especially  daring  oifenders  against  religion.  See 
what  I  have  said  of  Gehenna,  section  30th,  pp.  123  and  124. 
The  valley  is  said  to  have  derived  its  name  from  Hannam,  to  yell, 
on  account  of  the  shrieks  of  the  victims,  burnt  alive  in  sacritice : 
but  Jerome  derives  the  word  from  Inyan,  affliction,,  and  says  the 
Greeks  according  to  their  own  idiom,  say  Gehenna  instead  of 
Inyan^  meaning  thereby  torment.  Because  of  late  controversies  on 
this  subject,  I  shall  show  in  a  few  words :  1.  That  Gehenna,  since 
the  times  in  which  this  valley  was  polluted,  has  been  used  in  the 
sacred  writings  of  both  Jews  and  Ciiristians  to  signify  the  destruction 
of  the  damned.  SI.  That  all  who  are  cast  into  Gehenna  perish,  both 
soul  and  body,  in  its  flames. 

1.  That  Gehenna  signifies  the  region  or  torment  of  the  damned 
can  be  clearly  shown  from  indisputable  authority.  I  might  excuse 
myself  from  any  fartlier  trouble,  by  merely  referring  to  tlie  disserta- 
tion of  the  younger  Buxtorf  on  this  subject.  All  critics  acknowledge 
him  to  have  been  a  profound  Hebrician.  Now  in  this  dissertation, 
he  proves  that  the  word  Gehenna  is  never  used  in  the  Hebrew 
writings,  in  any  other  sense,  than  to  designate  the  place  of  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  damned,  or  the  punishment  itself,  inflicted  on  the 
impious  after  death. 

In  the  Targums,  evidently  commenced  by  Ezra  after  the  return 
from  Babylon,  part  of  which  were  confessedly  written  before  the 
time  of  Christ  by  Onkelos  and  Jonathan  Ben  Uzziel,  the  same  mean- 
ing is  affixed  to  the  term  Gehenna.  In  Isaiah  33,  14,  the  Targum 
has  Gehenna,  everlasting  fire.  On  Ecclesiastes  8.  10,  it  says  the 
wicked  shall  depart  to  be  burned  in  the  fire  of  Gehenna.  See  what 
has  been  said  by  Wetstein  and  Clarke  on  Matt.  5.  22.  In  Judith, 
a  book  written  before  Ezra,  the  following  language  occurs,  chap.  16. 
17  :  "Wo  to  the  nations  that  rise  up  against  my  kindred  !  The 
Lord  Almighty  will  take  vengeance  on  them  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
by  putting  fire  and  worms  into  their  flesh ;  and  they  shall  feel  them 


MISSION    OF   THE    TWELVE.  149 

repeat  it ;  fear  ye  him.  He  that  preserves  liis  life  shall 
lose  it ;  but  he  that  loses  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find 
it.  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  penny?  Yet 
neither  of  them  falls  to  the  ground  without  your  Father; 
nor  is  one  of  them  forgotten  hefore  God.  Fear  ye  not, 
therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows ; 
for  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numhered. 

Think  not  that  my  coming,  shall  bring  peace  on  the 
earth  ;  Nay  rather  division  and  I  he  swor«I.  My  coming 
will  produce  fire  on  earth,  and  w]}at  though  it  be  already 
2 

and  weep  forever."  Also  in  Ecclesiasticus,  7.  16:  "Number  not 
thyself  among  the  multitude  of  sinners,  for  the  vengeance  of  the  un- 
godly is  fire  and  worms."  In  this  sense  also  does  Mark  use  the 
same  phraseology,  chap.  9.  45 — 48. 

Kimchion  Psalm  27.  13,  saj^s  Gehenna  was  a  despised  place,  in 
which  there  was  kept  a  perpetual  fire,  to  burn  the  filth  and  dead 
bodies,  which  were  thrown  in^o  it,  and  therefore  it  was  called,  para- 
boHcally,  the  punishment  or  Gehenna  of  the  wicked."  All  the 
learned  admit  that  the  Pharisees  held  a  two  fold  sense  of  scripture, 
a  literal  and  hidden,  to  the  latter  tliey  gave  the  preference.  Now 
the  hidden  sense  of  Gehenna  was  HcUfire.  Thus  Arias  Montanus, 
de  Arcano  Seimone,  atfirms  that  "  the  name  Gehenna,  was  trans- 
ferred from  a  valley,  infamous  on  account  of  its  detestable  sacrifices 
and  pollutions,  and  perpetually  used  to  denote  Hell,  or  the  lowest 
department  of  the  damned ;  and  hence  always  called  Gehenna,  or 
the  Gehenna  of  fire."  Agreeably  to  this  view  of  the'  term,  P. 
Eliezer  asserts  all  die  uncircumcised  descend  into  Gehenna.  See 
Whitby,  Acts  15.  1, 

Nothing  more  need  be  said  in  confirmation  of  my  first  proposi- 
tion. We  only  ask  if  such  were  tlie  opinions  of  the  Jews  and  our 
Lord's  hearers  can  any  man  read  Matt.  10.  28,  and  Luke  12.  4,  5, 
and  imagine  any  other  alternative,  than  that  either  Christ  sanctions 
the  doctrine  of  Gehenna  or  violates  the  end  of  his  divine  mission  ? 
What  other  way  could  our  Lord  have  conveyed  his  meaning  and  the 
knowledge  of  things  future  and  unseen,  but  by  comparing  the  things 
that  are  seen  with  things  invisible.  It  is  no  reduction  to  the  force 
of  this  reasoning,  to  say  that  the  apostles  did  not  use  the  term  Ge- 
henna in  addressing  the  Gentiles.  Why  should  they  use  a  Hebrew 
term  when  the  Greek  Tartarus  signifies  the  same  thing?  Indeed 
Gehenna,  Hades,  and  Tartarus  when  spoken  in  relation  to  the  wick- 
ed mean  uniformly  Hell,  in  the  modern  sense. 

2.  The  second  proposition,  that  all  who  are  consigned  to  Gehen- 
na, perish  eternally  soul  and  body,  is  capable  of  the  most  indubita- 
ble evidence  from  reason,  philosophy  and  scripture. 

1.  Men  are  not  naturally  immortal,  as  many  have  fondly  imagined. 


150  MISSION   OF   THE   TWELVE. 

kindled  ;  for  I  liave  a  baptism  to  be  endured  and  bow 
am  I  distressed  till  it  be  accoraplisbed.  Henceforth, 
if  there  be  five  in  one  family,  three  shall  be  divided 
fi"2;ainst  two,  and  two  against  three.  The  Son  shall  be 
divided  from  the  father  and  the  daughter  from  the 
mother,  and  the  daughter  in  law  from  her  mother  in  law ; 
and  a  man's  enemies  will  be  they  of  his  own  family. 
He  who  loves  father  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  unwor- 
thy of  me  ;  and  he  who  loves  son  or  daughter  more  than 

Physioloo;ists  have,  of  late  years,  completely  exploded  the  old  doc- 
trine of  the  soul's  immortality,  see  my  Essay  on  Man.  The  scrip- 
tures completely  disavow  the  notion,  and  assure  us,  that  in  Adam  all 
die :  and  that  God  alone  has  immortality. 

2.  The  benefits  of  Christ's  mediation  are  confined  to  believers. 
*'l  am  the  life,  he  that  believes  on  me  shall  never  die — He  that  be- 
lieves not  in  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life.  He  that  has  not  the  Son  has 
not  life.  When  the  apostle  says,  in  Christ  shall  all  men  be  made 
alive,  he  immediately  limits  the  word,  «//,  by  saying :  They  that  are 
Christ's  at  his  coming. 

3.  The  wicked  are  threatened  with  everlasting  destruction.  2 
Thess.  1.  9.  Heb.  6.  8,  and  10.  39.  In  the  text  Jesus  plainly  dis- 
tinj^uishes  the  death  of  the  body  and  the  second  death  of  soul  and 
body,  in  a  Hall  of  fire.  The  Psalmist  says,  the  wicked  shall  be 
turned  into  Hell — They  shall  perish  like  beasts,  and  never  see  light, 
od  naizach,  to  eternity.  Ps.  9.  27,  and  49.  20.  Compare  Job  4. 
20  ;  Is.  34.  10,  and  63.  6.  The  demons  dreaded  this  destruction, 
which  they  knew  awaited  them.     Matt.  8.  29  ;  and  25.  41. 

4.  The  word  resurrection,  implying  a  return  from  the  dead  to 
immortal  felicity,  was  never  predicated  of  any  but  the  virtuous  and 
pious,  by  any  rational  and  enlightened  heathens,  Jews,  or  Christians. 
Josephus  says,  Wars,  B.  2,  C.  8,  the  Pharisees  held  that  the  souls 
of  the  wicked  were  not  permitted  to  return  into  another  body.  Vir- 
gil describing  Hell,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Pythagoras  and 
Plato,  sets  forth  the  situation  of  some  to  be  so  obdui'ately  wretched, 
as  no  power  of  men  or  God's  could  relieve.  These  were  consigned 
to  Tartarus.  Hence  even  Plato,  who  held  a  general  restoration,  did 
not  admit  its  universality.  See  the  notes  of  Davidson  and  the  edi- 
tion of  the  Delphini  Virgil  on  yEneid.  6.  553,  and  Whitby's  discourse, 
at  the  end  of  the  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  The  famous 
Jewish  writers,  Maimunides  and  Abarbanel,  held  that  the  most 
wicked  would  be  annihilated.  Jesus  approbates  this  doctrine  of  a 
limited  resurrection,  Luke  20.  35.  Isaiah,  chap.  26.  14,  19,  dis- 
tinguishes the  dead  that  shall  not  live,  from  the  righteous  tliat  shall 
olitain  a  resurrection.  That  doctrine  therefore,  which  assumes  that 
all  will  be  chano;ed  in  a  glorious  resurrection,  is  founded  on  a  mis- 


MISSION    OF   TilE   TWELVE.  151 

me,  is  unworthy  of  me  ;  and  he  who  will  not  take  up 
his  cross  and  follow  me,  is  unworthy  of  me. 

He  who  receives  you,  receives  me,  anci  he  that  re- 
ceives me,  receives  him  that  sent  me.  lie  that  rejects 
you,  rejects  me;  and  he  who  rejects  me,  rejects  iiiin 
that  sent  me.  He  who  receives  a  prophet,  because  he 
is  a  prophet,  shall  obtain  a  prophet's  reward :  and  he 
who  receives  a  righteous  man  because  he  is  a  righteous 
man,  will  obtain  a  righteous  man's  reward ;  and  whoso- 
ever will  give  one  of  these  lowly  disciples,  a  cup  of 
cold  water  to  drink,  because  he  is  my  disciple,  verily  I 
assure  you,  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward. 

And  when  Jesus  had  finished  his  instruction  to  the 
twelve  disciples,  he  departed  thence  to  teach  and  preach 
in  the  cities.  And  they,  likewise,  departing  went 
through  the  villages,  preaching  the  glad  tidings,  expel, 
ling  the  demons,  performing  many  cures,  and  healing 
many  that  were  sick,  anointing  them  with  oil. 

construction  of  a  doubtful  reading  of  a  single  passage  ;  1  Cor.  15. 
51,  of  whicli  there  are  three  different  readings.  The  Cambridge 
MS.  Vulgate,  and  most  of  the  Latin  Fathers  read :  "We  shall  all 
rise  but  we  shall  not  all  be  changed."  This  is  agreeable  to  the 
general  analogy  of  scripture  and  ancient  opinion;  and  implies  that 
all  will  appear  before  the  judgment,  but  the  wicked  and  unbelievei-, 
not  being  changed,  sliall  be  cast  into  the  Gehenna  of  fire,  and  perish 
everlastingly  with  the  Devil  and  his  angeis,  whose  cause  and  portion 
they  have  chosen. 

5.  As  the  holy  scriptures  so  uniformly  distinguish  men  into  two 
classes,  one  of  which  shall  see  God,  and  have  everlasting  life  :  the 
other  shall  not  see  life,  but  perish  like  the  beast,  I  must  believe, 
that  all  wlio  are  not  divinely  changed  and  united  to  Jesus,  must 
perish.  And  therefore  there  remains  no  alternative,  but  to  embrace 
the  doctrine  of  the  utter  destruction  of  one  class,  and  the  eternal 
salvation  of  the  other,  or  reject  revelation  altogether. 


SECTION  THHITI -FOURTH. 

Blasphemy  of  the  Pharisees. 

Then  was  brought  to  him  a  demoniac,  blind  and 
dumb,  and  he  healed  him,  so  that  the  man  who  had 
been  blind  and  dumb,  could  speak  and  see.     And  all 


i52  BLASPHEMY    OF    THE    PHARISEES.  • 

the  multitude  was  amazed,  and  said  :  Is  not  this  the  Sort 
of  David  ?  But  when  the  Pharisees  heard,  they  said  : 
This  man  is  confederate  with  Beelzebub,  and  expels 
demons  by  the  prince  of  demons.*  But  Jesus  know- 
ing their  thoughts,  called  them,  and  addressed  them  in 
parables,  because  they  said,  he  has  an  unclean  spirit. 
Jivery  kingdom  divided  against  itself  must  come  to 
desolation,  and  no  city  or  family,  divided  against  itself, 
can  subsist.  If  batan  rising  against  himself,  expel 
Satan,  how  shall  his  kingdom  stand.  You  say  1  cast 
out  demons  by  Beelzebub ;  but  if  I  expel  demons  by 
Beelzebub,  by  whom  do  your  sous  expel  them  ?  There- 
fore by  their  judgment,  ye  shall  be  condemned.  But 
if  I  expel  demons  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  then,  doubtless, 
the  reign  of  God  is  come  nigh  to  you.  How  else  can  a 
man  enter  the  house  of  a  strong  man  armed  and  spoil  his 
goods,  but  by  overcoming  him,  taking  his  armour,  in 
which  he  trusted,  and  binding  him  :  then  he  may  seize 
his  goods.  He  that  is  not  with  me,  is  against  me  ;  and 
he  that  gathers  not  with  me,  scatters  abroad.  Where- 
fore, 1  assure  you,  every  kind  of  sin  and  blasphemy 

*  Beelzebub  and  Satan  are  here  identified,  as  the  leader  or  chief 
of  demons.  Some  would  have  us  believe  there  is  no  such  being  as 
Satan,  prince  of  devils ;  but  the  evidence  of  the  testimony  for  his 
personality  and  injurious  agency  in  the  world,  is  of  tlie  same  nature, 
as  that  for  the  being  and  government  of  God.  The  existence  of 
neither  God  nor  Satan  is  proved,  but  taken  for  granted  in  the  holy 
scriptures  ;  and  he  who  would  reject  the  doctrine  of  Satan  and  Hell 
from  the  New  Testament,  can  with  equal  easy  and  parity  of  reason, 
show  that  the  scriptures  neither  teach  the  existence  of  God  nor  the 
felicity  of  heaven.  The  government  and  providence  of  God,  the 
enmity  and  temptation  of  Satan,  the  immortal  joys  of  the  holy,  and 
indlscribable  torment  and  destruction  of  the  wicked  in  Hell,  are 
doctrines  that  have  equal  foundation  in  the  christian  religion,  and 
will  be  acknowledged,  in  despite  of  all  the  eftbrts  of  infidels,  while 
the  world  stands  and  the  Bible  retains  the  confidence  of  mankind. 
Our  Lord  refutes  the  charge  of  co-operation  with  Satan,  by  the 
absurdity  of  the  supposition,  that  a  being  of  so  great  enmitj  and 
subtilty  should  act  in  opposition  to  his  own  kingdom  and  interest. 

The  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  the  wicked  ascription  of  our 
Lord's  miracles  to  the  agency  of  Satan.  This  was  the  blasphemy 
which  shall  never  be  forgiven,  but  must  be  punished  with  eternal 
destruction.     Do  not  deists  and  jews,  arid  infidels  commit  this  sin 


BLASPHEMY   OF   THE    PHARISEES.  153 

shall  be  more  easily  forgiven  the  sous  of  men,  than  the 
blasphemy  of  the  holy  spirit.  Whosoever  defames  the 
Son  of  man,  may  be  forgiven  ;  but  whosoever  defames 
the  holy  spirit,  shall  never  be  forgiven,  either  in  this 
dispensation,  nor  in  that  coming ;  but  is  held  a  bond 
slave  of  abiding  sin  :  Either  make  the  tree  good  and  its 
fruit  good,  or  the  tree  bad,  and  its  fruit  also  bad  :  for  a 
tree  is  known  by  its  fruits.  A  brood  of  vipers,  how  can 
ye,  being  evil,  speak  good  things  ;  for  the  mouth  speaks 
from  the  abundance  of  the  heart.  But  I  assure  you,  of 
every  injurious  word  that  men  shall  utter,  they  shall 
give  an  account,  in  a  day  of  judgment:  for  by  your 
words,  ye  shall  be  acquitted,  and  by  them  ye  shall  be 
condemned. 

daily  ?  Grotius  and  Lightfoot  say,  the  Jews  believed  in  the  happi- 
ness of  all  Abraham's  seed,  and  therefore  thought,  that  if  some  sins 
were  not  forgiven  in  this  life,  they  might  be  expiated  after  death. 
Hence  our  Lord  informs  them,  there  will  be  no  forgiveness  for  the 
blasphemy  of  the  spirit  in  this  life  nor  after  death. 


SECTION  THIRTY-FIFTH. 

'  Arrival  of  Christ's  Brethren. 

Whilst  he  said  these  things,  a  woman  in  midst  of  the 
crowd,  raising  her  voice,  cried  to  him  :  Blessed  the 
womb  which  bear  thee,  and  the  breasts  which  suckled 
thee.  Rather  say,  replied  he,  Happy  they  who  hear 
the  word  of  God  and  obey  it. 

And  as  he  thus  spake,  behold  his  mother  and  breth- 
ren arrived,  but  could  not  come  near  him ;  for  the  mul- 
titude sat  about  him ;  and  standing  without,  they  sent 
to  call  h:  ,,  being  desirous  of  speaking  with  him.  Then 
one  said  to  him  :  Behold  thy  mother,  thy  brethren,  and 
thy  sisters,  are  standing  without,  desiring  to  see  thee. 
But  he  answered  :  Who  are  my  mother  and  my  breth- 
ren? And  looking  around  on  his  disciples  and  them 
who  sat  about  him,  he  said :  Behold  my  mother  and 

20 


154  ARRIVAL    OF    CHRISt's    BRETHREN. 

my  brethren  !  For  whosoever  shall  hear  the  word  of 
God,  and  do  the  will  of  my  Father,  the  same  shall  be 
my  mother,  brother,  or  sister.* 


*  A  reason  for  our  Lord's  inattention  and  seeming  disrespect  to- 
wards his  mother  and  brethren,  on  this  occasion,  is  easily  perceiv- 
ed from  Mark,  3.  21,  and  the  beginning  of  the  thirty-third  section: 
They  came  to  seize  him.  They  were  either  more  concerned  about 
his  personal  safety,  than  the  prosperity  of  his  ministry  ;  or  in  unbe- 
lief, they  were  desirous  of  discontinuing  his  intercourse  with  the 
people.  Jesus  repels,  by  a  sharp  rebuke,  that  worldly  and  selfish 
spirit,  which  prefers  the  things  of  this  world,  to  the  services  of  re- 
ligion and  the  prospects  of  immortality.  Here  then  we  are  taught, 
that  the  concerns  of  this  world,  wife  and  children,  father  and  moth- 
er, house  and  lands,  and  even  life  itself,  must  be  abandoned,  if  the 
cause  of  religion  and  the  command  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  so  re- 
quires. 


SECTION  THIRTY-SIXTH. 

Widow  of  Nain's  Son. 
On  the  next  day,  Jesus  went  to  a  city  called  Nain, 
accompanied  by  many  disciples  and  a  great  multitude, 
and  by  certain  women  who  had  been  cured  of  evil  spi- 
rits and  infirmities  :  Mciry  called  Magdalene,  out  of 
"whom  went  seven  demons,  Joanna  wife  of  Chuza,  He- 
rod's Steward,  Susanna  and  several  others,  who  as- 
sisted him  with  their  property.  But  as  he  approached 
the  gate  of  the  city,  behold  a  dead  man  carried  out,  the 
only  son  of  his  mother,  who  was  a  widow ;  and  many 
of  the  citizens  were  with  her.  And  when  the  Lord  saw 
her,  he  had  pity  on  her,  and  said  :  Weep  not.  Then 
advancing  to  the  bier,  the  bearers  stopped,  and  he  said  : 
Young  man,  I  command  thee  to  arise;  Then  he  who 
had  been  dead,  sat  up,  and  began  to  speak ;  and  Jesus 
delivered  him  to  his  mother.  And  all  were  seized  with 
fear,  and  glorified  God,  saying :  A  great  Prophet  has 
arisv^n  amongst  us ;  and  God  has  visited  his  people. 
So  this  report  concerning  him,  spread  through  all  Ju- 
dea  and  the  neighbouring  country. 


SECTION  THIRTY-SEVENTH. 

Christ's  answer  to  John's  Messengers. 

Now  John  having  heard  in  prison  of  all  these  mira- 
cles of  Christ,  called  two  of  his  disciples  and  sent  tliem 
to  Jesus,  saying  :  Art  thou  lie  who  comes,*  or  should 
we  look  for  another?  At  the  very  time  when  tlie  men 
came  to  him,  he  cured  many  of  diseases,  distempers, 
evil  spirits,  and  blindness,  and  returned  tiiis  answer  : 
Go,  inform  John  of  what  ye  have  seen  and  heard  :  the 
blind  are  enabled  to  see,  the  lame  to  walk,  the  deaf  to 
hear ;  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  dead  raised,  and 
glad -tidings  proclaimed  to  the  poor  :  and  happy  the 
man,  who  shall  not  be  offended  at  me. 

When  John's  messengers  departed,  Jesus  addressed 
the  multitude  concerning  John:  What  went  ye  to  see 
in  the  wilderness?  a  reed  shaken  by  the  wind?  But 
what  went  ye  out  to  see?  a  man  clothed  in  delicate  ap- 
parel?  Those  who  wear  this  delicate  apparel,  and 
live  in  luxur}"^,  are  found  in  royal  palaces.  But  what 
went  ye  out  to  see?  a  prophet?  yea,  I  assure  you,  and 
something  superior  to  a  prophet.  For  this  is  he  of 
whom  it  was  written :  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger 
before  thee,  to  prepare  thy  way.  Truly  1  say  to  you  : 
Of  all  that  are  born  of  women,  there  has  not  arisen  a 
greater  prophet  than  John  the  Baptist :  but  the  least  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  is  greater  than  he.  And  from 
the  appearance  of  John  the  Baptist,  till  the  present 
time,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  has  suffered  violence,  and. 
the  invaders  enter  it  by  force.  For  all  the  prophets 
and  the  law  were  your  instructers  till  John;  but  if  ye 

*In  this  message  by  John,  the  name  by  which  he  distinguishes  the 
Messiah  is  worthy  of  notice.  The  comer,  o  ep^oy^tvoq,  appears  to  have 
been  as  much,  and  as  truly  a  title  of  our  Lord,  as  o  Xpti-o^,  or  Mes- 
siah. It  answers  to,  and  originates  from  the  Hebrew  haba.  He  that 
comes,  Ps.  118.  26.  In  the  reply  of  Christ,  it  is  also  worthy  of  ob- 
servation, that  as  John  had  enquired  concerning  the  Messiah  of  the 
prophets,  Jesus  consider  it  most  proper,  to  reply  to  his  enquiry,  by 
demonstrative  evidence,  exhibited  in  performing  before  the  messen- 
gers, the  works,  which  according  to  the  propliecies,  the  Messiah 
should  perform. 


156    chuist's  answer  to  John's  messengers. 

can  receive  the  information,  this  is  the  Elijah,  who 
was  to  come.  Whosoever  has  ears,  let  hira  hear. 
All  the  people,  even  the  tax- gatherers,  who  have  heard, 
and  received  the  baptism  of  John,  have  glorified  God  ; 
but  the  Pharisees  and  Lawyers,  by  not  receiving  his 
baptism,  have  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  towards  them. 


SECTION  THIRTY-EIGHTH. 

Death  of  John  the  Baptist. 

Now  a  convenient  season  came  when  Herod  on  his 
birth- day  made  a  supper  for  the  distinguished  officers 
of  his  court  and  army,  and  the  chief  men  of  Galilee  ; 
and  the  daughter  of  Herodias  came  in,  and  danced  be- 
fore them ;  and  so  pleased  Herod  and  his  guests,  that 
the  king  promised  with  an  oath,  to  give  her  whatsoever 
she  would  ask,  even  to  the  half  of  his  kingdom.  Then 
she  withdrew  and  said  to  her  mother  :  What  shall  I 
ask  ?  And  being  instructed  by  her  mother,  she  return- 
ed to  the  king,  saying :  I  desire  of  thee  to  give  me, 
immediately,  the  head  of  John,  the  Baptist,  in  a  dish. 
And  the  king  was  exceedingly  sorry,  but  from  regard 
to  his  oath  and  his  guests,  he  would  not  refuse  her : 
therefore  he  immediately  dispatched  a  sentinel  with  or- 
der's to  bring  the  Baptist's  head,  who  went  and  behead- 
ed John  in  the  prison,  and  brought  his  head  in  a  dish 
to  the  damsel,  who  presented  it  to  her  mother.  And 
when  his  disciples  heard,  they  went  and  took  away  the 
body  and  buried  it  in  a  tomb,  then  came  and  told  Jesus. 

END  OF  PART  FIRST. 

CORRECTIONS. 

Page    50,  line  16,  instead  of  "cliastisement,"  read  punishment. 

62,  line  42,  instead  of  "  thirty -one,"  read  tivenly-nine, 

120,  line  17,  instead  of  "felt,"  read/e//. 

133,  line  12,  instead  of  "all  intelligences,"  read  all  that  obey  him. 

140,  line  37,  instead  of  "  a  superstitious  veneration,"  read  the  bellf 

that  Jesus  ?>  Jehovuh. 


MONOTESSARON. 


PART  SBCOND, 

Containins:  the  history  of  Christy  from  the  death  of  the 
Baptist^  to  the  ctose  of  his  public  ministry. 


SECTION  THIRTY  NINTH. 

Jesus  leaves  the  tetrarchy  of  Herod. 

Now,  about  this  time,  Herod  the  tetrarch,*  having 
heard  of  the  fame  of  Jesus  and  the  works  he  had  done, 
was  greatly  perplexed,  because  some  said:  John  is  risen 
from  the  dead;  though  others  said  this  is  Elias,  who  has 
appeared;  and  others,  that  one  of  the  ancient  prophets 
has  arisen  again.  Then  Herod  said  to  his  servants: 
Who  is  this  of  whom  I  hear  such  wonderful  things? 
This  is  John  the  Baptist,  whom  I  have  beheaded;!  he  is 

*  The  word,  tetrarch,  signifies  one  that  possesses  the  fourth  part 
of  a  kinodom,  and  is  rendered  in  the  Arabic  and  Persic  versions, 
prince  or  governor  of  the  fourth  part  of  the  kingdom.  The  Em- 
peror Augustus  divided  the  kingdom  of  Herod  the  Great  into  three 
parts.  One  he  gave  to  Archelaus;  the  second,  to  Herod  Antipas, 
here  mentioned  in  the  text;  the  third,  to  Philip:  all  three  being 
sons  of  Herod  the  Great. 

t  The  occa-ion  of  John's  imprisonment  and  death  originated  in 
a  malicious  hatred,  engendered  in  the  bosom  of  Herod ias,  by  the 
plain  reproofs  of  the  Baptist.  This  woman  first  married  Philip, 
tetrarch  of  Iturea,  her  own  uncle:  for  being  daughter  of  Aristo- 
bulus,  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  she  was  niece  to  Herod  Antipas 
ard  Philip.  Seduced  by  Herod,  she  left  her  husband  Philip,  to 
whom  she  had  a  daughter  Salome,  and  lived  in  concubinage  with 
Herod,  who  was  both  her  uncle  and  brother-in-law.  Because 
John  ti)ld  Herod,  that  it  was  unlawful  for  him  to  have  his  brother's 
wife,  nothing  less  than  the  murder  of  the  Baptist  could  satiate  the 
revengeful  Herodias.  To  complete  the  tragedy  the  wanton  Sa- 
lome, danced  before  Herod  and  the  chief  men  of  Galilee,  and  de- 
manded as  the  reward  of  licentiousness,  the  head  of  the  Baptist. 

21 


f5S  JESUS  LEAVES  THE    TETRARCHY  OF  HEROD. 

risen  from  tbe  dead,  and  therefore  thr  powers*  are  ac- 
tive in  him.     And  he  desired  to  see  Jesus. 

But  when  Jesus  heard,  he  departed  privately,!  in  a 
vessel,  over  the  sea  of  Galilee,  to  a  desert  pla^-e.  bolonj;- 
ing  to  the  city  Bethsaida  And  when  th^  people  heard, 
for  many  knew  him,  they  followed  him  by  land,  and  ran 
together  to  that  place,  out  of  all  the  cities,  b"causo  thoy 
had  seen  the  miracles,  which  he  wrought  on  those  who 
had  been  infirm. 

And  the  disciples  having  returned,  assembled  to  Jesus, 
and  related  to  him  all  things,  both  what  they  had    i  »ue, 

Mother  and  daughter  were  much  alike  for  lasciviousne-s,  revens;e, 
and  cruelty;  but  the  judgments  of  God  did  not  lon-j;  delay  to  re- 
quite their  impiety.  Nicephorus  relates  that  as  Salome  walked 
over  a  frozen  river  the  ice  broke,  and  as  her  bodv  descended  i  to 
the  water,  the  ice  closing;  severed  the  head  from  her  body.  Tlius 
the /ca:  ^a/iom's  was  riiijhteou sly  executed  on  her.  Nor  did  Hero- 
dias  long  exult  in  forbidden  revelry,  for  Herod  havirig  resolved  to 
put  away  his  former  wife,  the  daughter  of  \retas,  king  of  Arabia, 
Aretas  made  war  agaiast  him  and  destroyed  his  army.  F  is.  sajs 
Josephus,  was  considered  a  judgment  ol  God,  on  Herod,  for  the 
murder  of  the  Baptist.     See  notes  p.  51. 

*  The  powers  are  active  in  him.  Most  translators  and  Commen- 
tators, except  Wakefield,  render  ^wocfxitg  tv^yaa-i*,  passively, 
whereas  the  verb  is  every  where  in  the  New  Testament,  used 
transitively;  and  the  action  referred  to  some  being  of  extraordina- 
ry power.  See  1  Cor.  12.  6,  11;  Gal.  i.8.  and  3,  5;  Ephes.  I.  11, 
20;  Philip.  2.  13.  The  word  Jwv«/i*e»5  is  used  to  denote  spiritual 
agents,  either  good  or  bad,  as  appears  by  comparing  the  above 
passages  with  Ephes.  6. 12,  and  Rom  8.38.  Probaoly  Herod  had 
hitherto  been  a  Sadducee,  and  believed  in  neither  resurrection  or 
spirit;  but  now  the  accusations  of  a  guilty  ctmscience,  work  iti 
him,  awful  apprehension^  of  a  dreadful  futurity,  and  its  tremen- 
dous consequences  to  the  wicked. 

t  Jesus,  who  knew  the  hearts  of  men,  perceived  that  Herod's  de- 
sire to  see  him,  was  accompanied  with  no  good  intentions,  as  we 
see  verified  in  the  account  given.  Luke  23.  7,  11;  Therefore,  he 
withdrew  from  Herod's  jurisdiction,  and  passed  over  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  into  the  tetrarchy  of  Philip,  where  he  could  remain  in 
safety:  because  Philip  was  a  mild  and  good  prince,  and  theref)re, 
would  not  disturb  the  ministry  of  Jesus;  nor  would  he  be  dispos- 
ed to  deliver  him  to  a  worthless  and  vicious  brother,  who  had  act- 
ed so  vile  and  treacherous  a  part  towards  him  and  his  family. 


JESUS  LEWES  THE  TETRARCHY  OP  HEROD.  159 

and  what  they  had  taught*  Then  he  said  to  them; 
Come  ye  apart,  by  yourselves,  into  a  lonely  place,  and 
rest  awhile. 


*  It  vvnulH  be  improper  to  pass  unnoticed  this  testimony  of  the 
Evjinjiplists  to  thf  sinceiif v  and  fidelity  of  the  twelve  apostles. 
Thf'v  rectMved  their  instructions  and  commission  from  Jesus,  and 
on  t!ieir  return,  rhev  relate  all  thinirs.  whatsoever  they  had  said  or 
dime  (luring  ther  absence;  fully  satished.  that  whatever  had  been 
Si'id  (ir  done  by  them,  might  pass  under  the  review  of  their  blessed 
]V?;tster.  ()!  how  few  such  ministers  of  religion  are  to  be  found 
at  f;.e  present  time.  All  are  willing  to  admit,  that  Mpi/  are  the  com- 
mss'oned  .-hnhnssntlors  of  Jesus;  but  in  the  execution  of  their  min- 
is.fv,  hiiw  few  conscientiously  adhere  to  the  instructions  of  Christ! 
N;*  V.  liitw  many  study  to  please  men  both  in  the  manner  and  mat- 
ter iif  ♦heir  preaching?  \1ay  tlie  Rternal  God  deliver  the  people 
from  uuhidy  and  time  serving  ministers! 


SECTION  FORTIETH. 

Jesus  feeds  five  thousand  men. 

Then  Jesus  ascended  to  a  mountain  and  sat  down 
there,  with  his  disciples.  Now  the  festival*  of  the  Jews 
wa>  nigh.  Then  Jesus  lifting  up  his  eyes,  saw  a  great 
multitude  coming  towards  him,  and  being  moved  with 
compassion  for  them,  because  they  were  like  sheep  with- 
out a  shepherd,  he  received  them,  and  began   to  teach 

*  The  word,  passover,  is  here  omitted,  because  this  festival  was 
not  the  passover.  but  the  Pentecost  Of  this  opinion,  was  Bishop 
Pearce  who  believed  John  6.  4,  to  be  an  interpolation;  and  argues, 
that  ihe  festival  mentioned,  John  5.  1,  whs  the  Pentecost;  f  ^r  so 
it  is  called,  in  the  Harmony  ascribed  to  Patian,  in  the  second  cen- 
tury. Moreover,  mention  is  made  of  the  feast  of  Tabernacles, 
Joiin  7.  2,  and  of  the  fea»t  of  dedication,  chap.  10.  2  Now  if  we 
transpose  the  fifth  and  sixth  chapters  of  John,  after  the  manner  of 
Tatian,  Ludolphus,  Mann,  and  Priestley,  we  shall  find  the  account 
of  J«'l\n  regular  and  harmonious  In  the  sixth  chapter,  he  gives 
intimation  of  a  Jewish  festival  being  nigh,  at  the  time  our  Lord 
fed  the  five  thousand  men.  In  the  tilth,  which  should  follow  the 
sixth  chapter,  he  gives  an  account  of  the  transactions,  which  took 


160  JESUS  FEEDS  FIVE  THOUSAND  MEN. 

them  many  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
to  heal  ihose  that  were  diseased. 

And  when  the  evening  came,  his  disciples  drew  near 
to  him,  saying:  This  is  a  desert  place  and  it  is  now  late, 
di.^uiiss  the  multitude,  that  they  may  go  into  the  neigh- 
bouring villages  and  farms  and  buy  victuals,  for  they 
have  nothing  to  eat.  But  Jesus  answered.  They  need 
not  depart,  give  ye  them  to  eat.  They  replied:  Shall  we 
go  and  buy  bread,  that  we  may  give  them  food.  Jesus 
said  to  them:  How  many  loaves  have  ye?  One  of  the 
disciples  Andrew,  brother  of  Simon  Peter,  said:  There 
is  a  lad  here,  who  has  five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  but 
what  will  they  avail  among  so  many.'*  Jesus  said:  Bring 
them  tome.  Then  he  said  to  Philip:  Whence  shall  we 
buy  bread  for  these  to  eat.'*  This  he  said  to  try  him; 
for  he  had  iletermined  what  he  would  do.  Philip  an- 
swered: Two  hundred  denaries*  will  not  purchase  bread 
siifticient  for  them,  that  each  may  receive  a  morsel.  Je- 
sus said:  Make  the  men  recline  on  the  grass  in  compa- 
nies.    And  they  caused  them  all  to  recline  in  ranks,  by 

pl.Tce  at  that  same  festival;  and  proceeds,  in  the  seventh  chapter, 
to  notice  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  which  followed  that  of  the  Pen- 
tecost. Besides  the  connection  and  circumstances  of  the  history, 
require  the  fifth  and  sixth  chapters  of  John,  to  be  transposed;  for 
the  last  verse  of  the  fourth  chapter,  leaves  Jt^sus  in  Galilee,  and 
the  first  of  the  sixth  chapter,  represents  him  passing  out  of  it;  and 
the  end  of  the  fifth  chapter  has  an  easy  and  natural  connection 
with  the  beginning  of  the  seventh.  VVhereas  the  common  opin- 
ion, which  makes  John  describe  the  events  of  two  passovers  in  the 
fifth  and  sixth  chapters,  as  well  as  the  present  arraiigeme.it  of  his 
gospel,  despoils  the  Evangelical  history  of  all  its  harmony  and  chro- 
nological order.  Nor  can  we  suppose,  that  John  would  pass  from 
one  passover  mentioned  in  the  fifth  chapter  to  speak  of  another  in 
the  next,  and  thus  leave  a  blank  of  one  whole  year  in  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  our  Master's  ministry,  whilst  we  find  him  so  par- 
ticular in  the  order  and  events  of  the  minor  festivals.  We  shall 
only  add  here:  that  Ireneas,  enumerating  all  the  passovers 
mentioned  in  the  gospel  History,  takes  no  notice  of  the  sixth  of 
John. 

*The  denarie  was  a  Roman  coin  worth  ISg  cents,  or  7f d,  Eng- 
lish, 


JESUS   FEEDS  FIVE  THOUSAND  MEN.  161 

hundreds  and  fifties*  Then  Jesus  took  the  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes,  and  looking  towards  heaven,  he  gave 
thanks,  and  brake  and  jrave  them  to  his  disciples,  and  the 
disciples,  to  the  rnultilude:  and,  in  like  manner,  he  di- 
vided the  two  fishes  among  them  all.  And  when  all 
had  eaten  and  were  satisfied,  he  said  to  his  disciples: 
Gather  the  fragments  which  remain,  that  nothing  be 
lost.  And  they  gathered  the  fragments  together,  and 
filled  twelve  baskets .f  And  the  number  of  men,  who 
had  eaten,  were  about  five  thousand,  besides  women  and 
children.  Then  the  men,  having:  seen  the  miracle  which 
J*  sus  wrought,  said:  Certainly  this  is  the  prophet,|  com- 
ing into  the  world. 

*  Fierce  has  shown,  in  his  fifth  dissertation  on  the  Hebrews,  that 
these  men  sat  down  in  rank  and  file,  forming  an  oblong  figure  of 
an  hundred  men  in  length,  and  fifty  in  breadth,  making  in  num- 
ber five  thousand. 

t  The  Jews  were  accustomed  to  carry  with  them  a  small  basket 
and  a  little  hay  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  they  did  so  in  memo- 
ry of  their  bondage  in  Egypt.  Hence  Ps.  81,  6,  according  to  the 
Septuagint  reads,  his  hands  served  in  the  basket,  but  Jerome  and 
Synmachus  render  it,  his  hands  were  delivered  from  the  basket. 
Gill  and  Schoetgen  adduce  quotations  in  proof  of  this  opinion. 
But  Buxtorf  supposes  the  basket  was  used  to  carry  the  first  fruits 
to  the  Priest,  arid  the  hay  was  provided  to  prevent  the  various  of- 
ferings from  touching  each  other.  Against  this  opinion  the  well- 
known  verses  of  Juvenal,  Sat.  3,  14,  and  6.  542,  have  been  al- 
leged, as  it  is  nut  probable  that  the  Jews  would  bear  offerings  in 
baskets  at  Rome.  Schoetgen,  Reland,  and  Schleusner  unite  in 
Oj.inion,  that  they  used  the  cophinus,  or  basket,  to  carry  articles 
of  provision,  and  the  hay  to  spread  under  them,  when  they  slept 
on  ground  inhabited  by  Gentiles,  which  was  therefore  consid- 
ered unholy  and  profane.     See  Schoetgen's  Horae  Hebraicae. 

I  The  allusion  is  here  made  to  Deut.  18,  15,  where  Moses  said 
to  the  Israelites;  ^  Prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  to 
you,  like  to  me.  This  promise  was  understood  by  the  ancient  Jews 
to  be  descriptive  of  the  Messiah.  See  the  passage  quoted  in  this 
sense,  Acts.  3,  £2. 


SECTION  FORTY-FrRST. 

Jesus  walks  on  the  Sea. 

Now  Jesus  percfiiving  their  intention  to  seize  him 
and  make  him  king,*  constrained  his  disciples  to  embark 
immndiately  and  proceed  to  Bethsaida,  whilst  he  dismiss- 
ed the  multitude.  And  when  he  had  sent  the  multi- 
tude away,  he  withdrew  to  a  mountain  for  prayer.  And 
in  the  evening,  the  disciples  having  put  to  sea,  and  he  be- 
ing alone  on  the  land,  saw  them  toiling  at  the  oar,  the 
bark  beat  out  to  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and  tossed  on  the 
swell,  occasioned  by  a  great  wind  that  blew  contrary  to 
them.  So  after  they  had  rowed  about  twenty-five  or 
thirty  furlongs,  making  towards  Capernaum.f  in  the 
fourth  watch  of  the  night,  Jesus  came  to  them,  walking 
on  the  sea:  but  when  they  saw  him  walking  on  the 
water,  and  drawing  nigh  to  the  vessel,  they  were  alarm- 

*  The  multitude  having  seen  the  miracle  displayed  in  feeding  so 
large  an  assembly  by  so  small  a  quantity  of  provisions,  concluded 
that  he,  who  manifested  such  astonishing  power,  must  be  the  pro- 
mised Messiah,  whom  they  expected  to  deliver  them  from  the 
yoke  of  heathen  oppression;  and  consequently,  they  imagined  that 
the  most  direct  course  to  realize  all  their  expectations  of  political 
greatness  and  terrestial  bliss,  would  be  to  proclaim  the  Son  of 
God  as  their  King,  and  deliver  themselves,  at  once,  from  Herod 
and  the  Romans:  but  it  is  a  good  remark  of  Dr.  Gill,  "That 
those  who  desired  a  temporal  Redeemer,  were  unworthy  of  his 
presence.  All  who  follow  Christ  for  power,  shew,  popularity, 
wealth,  or  honour,  or  for  anj  other  purpose  than  to  receive  a  spir- 
itual Messiah,  are  unworthy  »)f  him.  To  have  the  power  of  pray- 
ing, and  to  be  admitted  like  Christ,  to  communion  with  God,  is 
nioie  inestimable  than  all  earthly  distinctions  and  treasures." 
Ble^sed  are  they  who,  after  the  example  of  Christ,  decline  worldly 
honours,  when  they  would  come  into  collision  with  the  practice  of 
reliuion  and  virtue. 

t  There  seems  a  considerable  difficulty  in  reconciling  the  statis- 
tical la;,guage  of  this  section.  According  to  Mark,  Christ  order- 
ed the  disciples  on  a  coasting  voyage  along  the  shore  to  the  city 
Bi  ihsaida,  but  according  to  John  the  disciples  made  towards  Ca- 
pernauai;  yet  according  to  both  Matthew  and  Mark,  they  landed, 
neither  at  Bethsaida  nor  Capernaum,  but  at  some  place  in  the 
cour.trv  of  Genesareth.  Dr.  Clarke  is  mistaken  on  John  6.  17 
22,  ill  'supposing  that  th^:s^^  pe'.ple  had  not  been  in  Perea,  and 
that  the  disciples  went  only  on  a  coasting  voyage  from  Bethsaida 


JESUS  WALKS  ON    THE  SEA.  16S 

ed,  and  thinking:  it  an  apparition,*  they  cried  out  throujijh 
fear  But  he  said  to  them:  Take  courage,  it  is  I,  be  not 
afraid.  Then  Peter  answering  him,  said:  Master,  if  it 
be  thou,  bid  me  come  to  thee,  on  the  water  He  said: 
Come.  So  Peter  going  down  from  the  vessel,  walked 
on  the  water  towards  Jesus;  but  perceiving  the  wind 
boisterous,  he  was  afraid,  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cri- 
ed: Master,  save  me!  And  Jesus  stretching  out  his  hand 
immediately,  caught  him,  saying:  O!  thou  of  little  faith! 
wherefore  didst  thou  doubt?  And  as  soon  as  he  went 
aboard,  the  wind  ceased,  and  the  vessel  drew  nigh  to  the 
shore.  Then  they  who  were  in  the  vessel  being  struck 
with  astonishment  and  admiration,  prostrated  themselves 
before  him,  saying:  Truly  thou  art  the  Son  of  God:f  for 

to  Capernaum.  The  truth  is,  the  disciples  embarked  to  ^o  to 
Belhsaida,  as  Jesus  commanded,  but  a  great  storm  blowing 
ahead,  they  were  driven  in  direction  of  Capernaum,  across  the 
lake,  and  landed  in  some  convenient  harbour,  north  of  Caper- 
naum, in  the  country  of  Genesareth.  This  account  fully  recon- 
ciles the  Evangjelists. 

*  ^n  apparition,  or  spirit.  Dr.  Clarke  has  well  observe.!,  that 
"it  was  a  doctrine  held  by  the  greatest  and  holiest  men  that  ever 
existed,  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  might,  and  did,  appear:  a 
doctrine  which  the  cavillers,  free-thinkers,  and  bound-thinkers  of 
different  ages  have  never  been  able  to  disprove."  If  this  doc- 
trine be  not  true,  all  the  testimony  of  ancient  and  modern  times 
must  be  rejected.  Indeed  it  has  never  been  denied  by  any  but 
3uch  sceptics  as  have  been  disposed  to  doubt  of  their  own  exis- 
tence, and  consequently  had  good  reason  to  doubt  of  the  validity 
of  their  own  judu,ments.  Whether  Materialism  be  true  or  false, 
this  proposition  must  be  admitted,  that  all  who  have  lived  as  ac- 
cou.  table  beinjis,  are  continued  in  existence,  or  immediately  re- 
stored to  life,  after  death,  to  enter  on  that  scene  of  retribution, 
to  which  as  moral  agents  they  have  become  adapted. 

t  The  phrase,  moi  ©£s,  has  been  rendered  by  many  Commentators 
and  Critics,  a  Son  of  a  God.  If  this  phraseology  were  used  by 
heathen  mariners,  it  would  imply  their  conviction  of  Christ's  di- 
vinity: and  in  this  sense  it  was  understood  by  the  Jewish  High 
Piiest,  Matthew  27.  43.  Middleion  contends  that  the  two  nouns 
used  without  the  article  are  ot  the  some  import  as  if  both  were 
preceded  by  articles.  Sons  of  God'xs  a  phrase  frequently  used  to 
«enote  pious  men,  but  in  the  singular,  throughout  the  New  Tes- 


164  JESUS   WALKS  ON  THE  SEA. 

their  minds  were  so  blinded,  that  they  had  not  reflected 
on  the  loaves.  So  having  crossed  to  the  territory  of  Ge- 
nesaret  and  landed,  the  people  knew  him,  and  sent  forth 
into  all  the  neighbouring  country,  and  brought  to  him  all 
that  were  diseased,  carrying  the  sick  on  beds  to  whatev- 
er place  he  went.  And  into  whatever  town  or  village, 
or  city  he  entered,  they  laid  the  sick  in  the  streets,  and 
besought  him,  that  they  might  touch  were  it  but  the  bor- 
der of  his  garment,  and  as  many  as  touched  him  were 
healed. 


tament,  it  denotes  either  the  Messiah  or  some  divine  person. 
Ti  ere  was  ample  reason  for  the  crew  of  this  vessel  to  conclude, 
thdt  d'"\ine  powers  were  exerted  by  Jesus:  for  they  had  seen  the 
laws  of  jrravitation  suspended,  by  his  walking  on  the  water;  the 
■winds  calmed,  and  the  raging  of  the  sea  stilled,  at  the  word  of 
this  Son  ot  God.  The  nature  of  a  being  is  known  to  us  by  is  at- 
tributes alone;  and  as  Jesus  exerted  powers,  which  were  altogeth- 
er suptr-hunian,  we  have  every  reason  to  rank  him  above  the  most 
exalted  order  of  our  species,  though  it  be  unnecessary  for  us  to  in- 
quire to  what  rank  of  celestial  existences,  he  primeval ly  belong- 
ed. The  miracles  wrought  by  Jesus,  and  especially  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  performed,  afford  an  eternal  refutation  of  that 
dogma,  which  designates  his  origin  to  be  totally  human;  though 
they  may  fail  to  be  adequate  evidence  of  his  supreme  Deity. 


SECTION  FORTY  SECOND. 

Discourse  concerning  Bread. 

On  the  day  following,  the  people  who  stood  beyond 
the  sea,  seeing  that  neither  Jesus  nor  his  disciples  were 
there,  and  knowing  that  there  was  no  other  boat,  but 
one,  and  that  Jesus  did  not  go  on  board  with  his  disci- 
ples, but  as  other  boats  from  Tiberius  came  near  to  the 
place  where  they  had  eaten  bread,  alter  the  Master  had 
given  thanks,  they  embarked  and  proceeded  to  Caper- 
naum in  search  of  Jesus.  And  having  found  him,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  sea,  they  said  to  him:  Master,  when 
didst  thou  come  hither.'^     Jesus  answering  said  to  them: 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  BREAD.  165 

Verily,  verily  I  say  to  you:  Ye  seek  me,  not  because  ye 
saw  miracles,  but  because  ye  ate  of  the  loaves  and  were 
satisfied.  Labour  not  for  perishable  food,  but  for  that 
which  remains  through  an  endless  life  which  the  Son  of 
Man  will  give  you ;  for  on  him  has  the  Father,  even  God, 
set  his  seal.*  Then  they  asked  him:  What  can  we  do 
to  perform  the  works  of  God.''  Jesus  said:  This  is  the 
work  of  God,  to  believe  in  him  whom  he   has  sent.f 


*  By  this  expression  our  Lord  designates  the  commission  which 
he  had  received  from  the  Father,  to  become  the  prophet  and  priest 
of  a  sinful  world.  As  a  person,  who  wishes  to  communicate  his 
will  to  another  who  is  at  a  distance,  writes  a  letter,  seals  it  with 
his  own  seal,  and  sends  it  to  the  person  for  whom  it  was  written, 
so  Christ,  who  was  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  was  sent  as  the 
interpreter  of  the  divine  will  to  mankind,  bearing  the  image  and 
seal  of  God:  for  as  seals  are  used  to  distinguish  one  thing  from 
another,  to  confirm  any  document  or  attest  its  authenticity,  so  the 
voice  from  Heaven,  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  Jesus,  his 
innocent  life,  pure  and  moral  doctrine,  and  stupendous  miracles, 
sealed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  to  be  the  promised  Messiah,  the  prophet 
which  should  come  into  the  world. 

But  Jesus  came  also  as  a  Priest  to  make  reconciliation  for  ini- 
quity, and  to  give  his  body  for  the  life  of  the  world.  In  this 
sense,  especially,  he  was  sealed  by  God  his  Father.  It  was  a 
custom  among  the  nations  contiguous  to  the  Jews,  and  particularly 
in  Egypt,  to  set  a  seal  upon  the  victim  which  was  deemed  fit  for 
sacrifice.  Herodotus  informs  us,  that  the  Egyptians  sacrificed 
white  bulls  to  Apis,  but  if  one  black  hair  was  found  on  them,  tliey 
were  considered  unclean,  and  improper  for  sacrifice.  If,  however, 
after  search,  the  bull  was  found  without  blemish,  the  priest  ap- 
plied wax  to  his  ears,  and  sealed  it  with  his  ring,  but  it  was  death 
to  sacrifice  one  of  these  animals  without  such  a  seal.  How  ap- 
propriate the  allusion!  Jesus  was  holy  and  separate  from  sinners, 
and  God  found  him  without  blemish,  a  fit  sacrifice  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world. 

t  To  perform  the  works  of  God,  it  is  indispensable  to  begin  by 
believing  in  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  nothing  in  which  men,  lust  in 
trespasses  and  sin,  can  be  employed,  more  acceptable  to  God 
and  beneficial  to  their  own  eternaf  welfare,  than  to  believe  Jesus 
as  the  Sent  of  God,  and  the  Saviour  of  ruined  men.  This  is  the 
primary  step  that  must  be  taken  by  the  sinner  in  the  way  to  sal- 
vation. Surely  if  there  be  connection  between  cause  and  effect, 
if  ihere  be  wisdom  ia  God,  and  truth  in  the  sacred  volume,  the 

22 


766  DISCOURSE    CONCERNING  BREAD. 

Then  they  replied:  What  sign  she  west  thou,  that  we 
may  see  and  believe  thee?  What  dost  thou  perform? 
Our  fathers  ate  manna  in  the  wilderness;  as  it  is  writ- 
ten: He  gave  them  bread  from  Heaven  to  eat  Jesus 
answered:  Verily  verily  1  say  to  you,  Moses  gave  not 
you  the  bread  from  Heaven,  but  my  Father  gives  the 
tiue  bread  from  Heaven,  for  the  bread  of  God  is  that, 
which,  coming  down  from  Heaven,  gives  life  to  the 
world.  Then  said  they  to  him:  Master!  give  us  always 
that  bread.  Jesus  answered:  I  nm  that  bread  of  life, 
he  that  comes  to  me  will  never  hunger;  and  he  who  be- 
lieves on  me  shall  never  thirst  But  I  tell  you,  that 
though  ye  have  seen  me, yet  ye  do  notbelinve  All  (hat 
the  Father  gives  me  will  come  to  me;  cind  him  that 
comes  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  reject:  for  I  came  down 
from  Heaven,  not  to  do  my  own  will,  but  the  will  of 
him  who  sent  me.  This  is  the  will  of  him  who  sent 
me,  that  I  should  lose  nothing  out  of  all  that  he  has  giv- 
en me,  but  raise  it  at  the  last  day;  and  that  every  one 
who  sees  the  son  and  believes  in  him,  may  have  life  eter- 
nal ;  and  that  I  should  raise  him  at  the  last  day. 

The  Jeus  then  murmured  at  his  saying:  I  am  ;hat  broad 
which  came  down  from  Heaven;  and  said:  Is  not  this 
Jesus,  son  of  Joseph,  whose  father  and  mother  we  know? 
How  then  can  he  say:  I  descended  trom  Heaven?  Jesus 
answered:  Murmur  not  among  yourselves  None  can 
come  to  me  except  the  Father,  who  sent  me,  draw  him, 
and  1  will  raise  him  at  the  last  day.  It  is  written  in  the 
prophets:  They  shall  be  all  taught  of  God.  All  who 
have  heard  and   learned  from  the  Father,  shall  come  to 

Christian  conrse  must  bejjin  by  faith  in  Jesus.  Ail  other  means, 
all  other  ways,  will  tail,  and  conduct  the  wandeier  to  darkness, 
sorrow  and  death,  because  God  has  opened  no  other  way  to  '>eaven 
and  salvation,  but  tlir'),gh  the  name  and  faith  of  Jesus.  Whoev- 
er, therefore,  would  be  saved,  must  receive  Jesus  as  his  pro|>het  to 
instruct,  and  liis  priest  to  atone;  and  imitating  his  holy  life,  sub- 
mitting his  soul  to  the  divine  guidance,  and  his  mind  to  the  in- 
struction of  th*  New  Testament,  he  must  work  out  his  own  salva- 
tion, and  thus  make  sure  his  calling  and  election  as  a  Christian. 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING    BREAD.  167 

me:  though  no  one  has  seen  the  Father  except  him  who 
vas  in  the  presence  (  f  God;  he  has  seen  the  Father. 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  to  you:  Whosoe. er  believes  in  me 
has  everlasting  life  I  am  the  bread  of  that  life.  Your 
fathers  who  ate  manna  in  the  wilderness,  died:  hut  such 
is  the  bread  that  came  from  Heaven,  that  whosoever  eats 
of  it,  shall  not  die  I  am  the  life-giving  bread,*  which 
came  from  Fleaven:  if  any  one  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall 
live  forever  And  truly  the  bread,  which  I  shall  give, 
is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world. 
Then  the  Jews  began  to  debate  among  themselves,  say- 
ing: How  can  he  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?  Jesus  said: 
Verily,  verily,  T  say  to  you:  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  and 
drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man,  ye  have  no  life  in 
yourselves  He  who  eats  my  flesh  and  drinks  my  blood, 
has  eternal  life,  and  shall  live  by  rae,t  as  I  live  by  the 
life-giving  Father,  who  sent  me:  for  my  flesh  is  truly 
meat,  and  my  blood  truly  drink.  He,  therefore,  who 
eats  my  flt^sh  and  drinks  my  blood,  dwells  in  me  and  I  in 
him;  and  I  will  raise  him  at  the  last  day.  This  bread 
is  not  like  that  of  which  the  fathers  ate  and  died,  for  he 
that  eats  of  it,  shall  live  forever.  This  discourse  he 
pronounced  whilst  he  taught  in  a  public  assembly  near 
Capernaum. 

*  The  comparison  of  food,  which  nourishes  the  body,  and  wis- 
dom, which  nourishes  the  mind,  is  common  in  many  places  ot 
scripture.  Thus  Isaiah  says  —Come  buy  loine  and  milk  Light- 
foot  adduces  several  quotations  from  Jewish  writers,  to  prove  that 
the  term  bread  was  trequentlj  used  by  the  Jewish  doctors  to  sig- 
nify doctrine. 

t  This  passage  seems  clearly  to  imply  an  intimate  connection 
between  faith  in  Jesus,  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
eternal  life.  No  sincere  professor  of  religion,  can  live  in  neglr^ct 
of  this  holy  ordinance,  and  he  thai  is  guilty  of  neglect,  ought  to 
tremble  at  that  awful  declaration  of  Jesus,  which  positively 
threatens  disavowal  in  the  day  of  judgment,  of  all  thai  do  not 
confess  him  am  uig  men.  No  language  can  be  plainer  than  that 
which  limits  the  blessings  of  eternal  life  and  happiness,  to  the 
faithful,  public,  and  steadfast  profession  of  Christ  and  his  religion. 


SECTION   FORTY-THIRD. 

Defection  of  Christ's  Disciples. 

Then  said  many  of  his  disciples  who  had  heard  it,  this 
is  harsh  doctrine,*  who  can  receive  it?  Jesus  perceiving 
that  his  disciples  murmured  at  it,  said  to  them:  Does 
this  offend  you?  If  then  you  see  the  Son  of  Man  ascend 
to  the  place  where  he  was  before,  the  spirit  gives  life, 
the  flesh  yields  no  assistance:  so  the  words  which  I 
speak  to  you,  are  spirit  and  life.  But  there  are  some  of 
you,  who  do  not  believe;  therefore  said  I  to  you:  No 
man  can  come  to  me,  unless  he  be  influenced-}-  by  the 
Father.  On  this  many  of  his  disciples  withdrew,  and 
followed  him  no  longer.  Then  said  Jesus  to  the  twelve: 
Will  ye  also  forsake  me?  Simon  Peter  answered:  Mas- 
ter to  whom  shall  we  go?     Thou  hast  the  words  of  eter- 


*  This  harsh  doctrine  is  that  which  proclaims  the  duty  of  self- 
government,  to  the  intemperate  and  voluptuary;  The  necessity 
ot  faith  in  Jesus,  to  the  infidel;  humility  and  repentance,  to  the 
self-sufficient  and  spiritually  proud;  and  everlasting  death  and  de- 
struction to  all  that  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  general,  men  account  that  doctrine  harsh 
which  opposes  their  prejudices  or  restrains  their  unholy  appetites. 

t  By  the  phrase,  divine  influence,  we  n>ean  the  operations  of  the 
Deity,  on  the  human  mind.  Dr.  Clarke,  on  John  5.  4,  well  re- 
marks, that  "those  who  feel  little  of  God  in  their  own  hearts,  are 
unwilling  to  allow  that  he  works  in  others.  Many  deny  the  in- 
fluences of  God's  Spirit,  merely  because  they  never  felt  them. 
This  is  to  make  every  man's  experience  the  rule,  by  which  the 
whole  word  oi  God  is  to  be  interpreted,  and  consequently,  to  leave 
no  more  divinity  in  the  Bible,  than  is  found  in  the  heart  of  him, 
who  professes  to  explain  it." 

The  three  following  propositions,  concerning  this  doctrine,  are 
susceptible  of  the  fullest  evidence.  1.  This  doctrine  is  reasona- 
ble.    2  Scriptural.     3  Essential  to  a  life  of  piety. 

The  doctrine  is  reasonable.  All  but  Atheists  admit  that  God 
operates  on  the  material  world,  and  must  it  not  be  absurd  and 
preposterous  to  confine  God  to  the  direction  of  the  lowest  and 
most  inactive  part  of  his  creation,  and  exclude  his  government  from 
the  more  exalted  empire  of  the  mind.''  If  one  man  can  by  words 
or  suggestions,  influence  the  mind  of  another,  may  not  the  divine 
suggestions  be  productive  of  much  greater  eftect.'* 

Because  the  subject  is  not  perfectly  intelligible  to  all,  nor  easy 
of  explanation  by  any,  can  there  be  any  more  credulity  necessary 


DEFECTION   OF   CHRISt's   DISCIPLES.  169 

nal  life:*  and  we  believe  and  know  that  thou  art  the 
Christ  of  God.  Jesus  answered:  Have  I  not  chosen 
you  twelve?  Yet  one  of  you  is  a  deceiver.  He  meant 
Judas  Iscariot,  son  of  Simon,  who,  though  one  of  the 
twelve,  was  about  to  betray  him:  for  Jesus  knew  from 
the  beginning,  who  they  were  who  did  not  believe,  and 
also  who  he  was  that  should  betray  him. 

for  the  reception  of  this  doctrine,  than  is  required  for  the  belief 
of  many  things  in  the  physical  world,  which  are  to  us  inexpli- 
cable. 

The  doctrine  is  scriptural.  If  the  doctrine  of  divine  influence 
be  rejected,  the  whole  testimony  of  the  Bible  must  be  rejected  al- 
so. From  the  Patriarchal  age  to  the  conclusion  of  the  sacred  re- 
cords, eminent  and  holy  men  believed  this  doctrine,  and  ascribed 
their  religious  feelings  to  the  impulse  of  the  Deity.  This  doctrine 
is  recognised  by  our  Lord  in  this  Section.     John  6.  44,  46. 

This  doctrine  affords  the  only  rational  foundation  for  prayer; 
for  why  should  any  seek  the  Divine  aid  in  worship,  or  look  to 
God  tor  direction  and  guidance,  who  deny  the  very  thing  for 
which  they  profess  to  supplicate  the  throne  of  mercy.  If  we  ap- 
peal to  facts,  we  shall  see  all  who  disbelieve,  or  deny  the  doc- 
trine, live  a  prayerless  and  irreligious  life.  In  a  word,  we  gener- 
ally find  them  live  without  God,  atheists  in  the  world. 

*  Jesus  alone  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  by  the  Gos- 
pel. The  brightest  ornaments  of  the  intellectual  world  before  the 
era  of  Christianity,  could  only  attain  to  a  probability,  concerning 
the  life  to  come,  but  Jesus  verified  this  doctrine  by  the  evidences 
of  a  divine  mission,  and  the  example  of  a  resurrection  in  his  own. 
person,  attested  by  the  most  indubitable  evidences.  Well  said 
Peter,  Lord  to  whom  shall  ive  go;  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life?  In  vain  would  they  have  gone  to  the  schools  of  Philosophy, 
or  even  to  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  for  satisfaction.  Jesus  the 
life,  had  the  words  of  life.  Ail  experience  shows  the  truth  of  Pe- 
ter's confession.  Wherever  the  gospel  of  Jesus  is  preached  in 
simplicity  and  purity,  and  received  into  upright  hearts,  it  is  found 
to  be  a  living,  life-;^iving,  and  quickening  word,  and  the  power  of 
God  to  salvation,  in  every  one  that  believes.  But  wherever  an 
excess  of  false  doctrine,  or  any  system  of  morals,  or  of  specula- 
lative  philosophy,  is  substituted  for  the  gospel,  a  spiritual  torpor 
ensues;  and  starvation  and  death  will  follow,  if  the  Lord  in  mer- 
cy prevent  not  the  direful  consequences  of  such  religious  defec- 
tion. 


SECTION  FORTY  FOURTH. 

Cure  of  an  impotent  man  at  Bethesda. 

After  these  thingjs  there  was  a  Je.vish  festival.*  and 
Jesus  went  up  to  Jerusalem.  Now  there  is  f  in  Jerusa- 
lem at  the  Sheep-«;ate,  a  Bath  called  BethesJa,  having 
five  portieos,  in  which  lay  a  multitude  of  infirm,  blind, 
lame,  and  palsied  people:  *  *  *  And  a  certain  man  was 
there,  who  had  been  diseased  thirty  eight  years  Jesus 
seeing*:  him  lying;,  and  knowing  that  his  disease  had  been 
of  long  continuance,  said  to  him:  Wilt  thou  be  made 
whole?  The  impotent  man  answered:  Sir,  I  have  nobo- 

*  This  fenst  is  called  the  Pentecost  by  Tatian  and  several  of  the 
primitive  Fathers,  and  when  this  section  is  placed,  as  we  have 
done,  after  the  discourse  concerning  bread,  the  chronological  order 
of  John  is  correct  and  harmonious:  for  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  is 
mentioned  in  the  seventh,  or  next  chapter  of  John,  and  the  feast 
of  dedication,  in  thetenth.  Thus  the  history  of  our  Lord's  public 
ministry  according;  to  John,  includes  onhi  one  year,  from  the  pass- 
over  mentioned,  John  2.  13,  to  that  alluded  to,  John  18.  28. 

t  There  is  at  Jerusalem — a  pool  called  Bethesda.  The  word, 
Bethesda,  signifies,  a  house  oftnerey,  or  grace,  and  probably  ob- 
tained that  name,  on  account  of  its  sanative  waters.  As  John 
here  uses  the  present  tense,  many  have  believed  he  wrote  before 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem:  and  truly  there  is  no  solid  argu- 
ment that  can  be  adduced  to  the  contrary.  If,  however,  what  is 
conjectured,  by  Priestley  and  some  others  be  true,  the  whole  con- 
troversy is  ended.  Indeed  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  John 
wrote  a  number  of  memorandums  at  ditFerent  times,  which  were 
collected  and  published  after  his  death  by  the  Church  at  Ephesus. 
This  opinion  is  very  probable,  seeing  the  close  of  John's  gospel, 
especially  the  two  last  verses,  is  manifestly  the  attestation  of  the 
elders  at  Ephesus.  The  use  of  the  imperfect  tense  by  the  Syriac, 
Arabic,  and  other  versions,  is  only  an  accommodation  of  the  tense, 
to  the  time  in  which  the  translations  were  made. 

*  *  *  The  latter  part  of  the  third  verse  and  the  whole  of  the 
fourth  verse  ot  the  fifth  chapter  of  John,  are  here  left  out  of  the 
text.  So  miraculous  powers  should  not  be  ascribed  to  any  wa  ers, 
on  so  slight  authority.  The  account  is  wanting  in  a  number  of 
MSS.  and  in  several  versions;  and  is  very  differently  written  in 
those  MSS.  and  versions  that  have  it.  It  is  a  confused  reading  of 
doubtful  authority,  and  therefore  can  never  be  alleged  to  prove  the 
most  incredible  ot  miracles. 


CURE  OF  AN  IMPOTENT  MAN  AT  BETHESDA.    171 

dy  to  put,  me  into  the  Bath,  wlien  the  water  is  agitated* 
and  whilst  I  am  going,  another  descends  before  me. 
Jesus  said  to  hinn:  Arise,  take  up  thy  couch,  and  walk. 
Ahd  instantly  the  man  was  healed,  and  took  up  his  couch 
and  walked. 

But  that  same  day  being  a  Sabbath,  the  Jews  said  to 
the  man.  tiiai  had  been  cured:  This  is  a  Sabbnth,  it  is 
not  lawful  for  you  to  carry  yo.r  couch  He  answered 
them:  The  same  who  cured  me,  said  to  me:  Take  up 
thy  couch  and  walk.  Then  Ihey  a^ked  him:  Who  is 
the  man  that  bade  thee?  But  tne  man  that  had  been 
healed,  knew  not;  for  Je^us  had  glided  away  among  the 
multitude,  wliich  was  present.  Afterwards  Jesus  find- 
'm(r  him  in  the  temple,  said  to  him:  Lo!  thou  art  healed. 
Sill  no  more,f  lest  something  worse  happen  to  thee.  The 
man  departed  and  told  the  Jews,  that  it  was  Jesus  who 
had  healed  him.  Therefore  the  Jews  persecuted  Jesus, 
because  he  had  done  these  thmgs  on  a  Sabbath. 

*Th('  man  here  alludes  to  the  story  of  the  anoel  which  we  have 
rejected  from  tli  ■  fext  an  I  wliich  is  as  follows  For  an  angel  went 
doicn  at  a  cer'ain  season  into  the  poof,  and  troubled  the  water; 
wh  'S  never  then  first ,  after  the  troubling  of  the  water,  stepped  in, 
was  made  ivhole  of  w  latever  disease  he  had.  Because  of  this  allu- 
sion, 1  would  have  cheeriully  retained  the  words  in  the  text,  had  it 
not  been  contrary  to  the  rule  whirh  I  have  followed  in  the  rejec- 
ticn  of  all  doubful  readings.  There  od^ht  have  been  a  report  in 
circulation  of  the  above  nature,  which  induce  many  infirm  peo- 
ple to  rt  pair  to  the  pool;  and  it  is  meet  that  the  Evangelist  should 
record  the  impotent  man's  reply  to  Jesus,  but  to  have  insert- 
ed what  we  have  rejected  from  the  text,  would  have  <i;iven  the  au- 
thority of  scripture  to  what  has  ail  the  appearance  of  an  idle  tale. 

It  seems  utterly  absurd,  to  suppose  the  same  waters  curative  of 
all  diseases.  i\one  but  imposter-  pretend  to  have  a  universal  med- 
icine, and  none  but  the  very  slaves  of  credulity,  can  be  so  fond  ot'rhe 
marvellous,  as  to  believe  theui.  Had  God  been  pleased  to  snow 
mercy  to  the  diseased  through  the  means  of  these  waters,  their 
sanativv'  effects  would  never  have  been  co  fined  to  that  person 
alone  wh  ■  first  entered  the  bath^  for  he  being  the  most  acnve, 
must  have  been  the  very  person  who  least  ot  all  .eeded  to  be  hf'al- 
ed.  However,  this  impotent  man  went  to  Bethesda,  hopin,^.  to 
obtain  relief,  and  God  rendered  it  a  house  of  mercy  to  both  his 
soul  and  botiy. 

+  By  this  advice  to  the  man  Jesus  alludes  to  the  Jewish  opinion, 


SECTION  FORTY  FIFTH. 

Discourse  at  the  Pentecost. 

Now  Jesus  vindicating  said  to  the  Jews:  My  Father 
works  hitherto  and  I  work.  But  on  this  account,  the 
Jews  became  more  intent  on  killing  him,  because  he  not 
only  abolished*  the  Sabbath,  but  said:  God  was  his  pro- 
per f  Father,  comparing  himself  to  God/  Then  Jesus 
answered  them:  Verily,  verily,  I  say  to  you:  The  Son 
can  do  nothmg  of  himself,  unless  what  he  sees  the  Fa- 
ther do;  for  whatever  he  does,  the  Son  imitates.  For 
the  Father  loves  the  son  and  shows  him  whatever  he  him- 
self does:  and  he  will  show  him  still  greater  works  than 
these,  that  ye  may  wonder.  For  as  the  Father  raises 
the  dead,  and  gives  them  life,  so  the  Son  gives  life  to 

that  sin  was  the  cause  of  suiFering,  and  intimates  to  him  that  his 
long  infirmity  was  the  effect  of  sin.  This  doctrine  seems  to  be 
consonant  both  with  reason  and  scripture.  See  John  9.  3,  and  p. 
73,  74,  of  this  work. 

*  The  Jews  apprehended  that  Jesus  was  about  to  overthrow  their 
religious  laws  and  ordinances;  and  being  fully  persuaded  that 
God  had  spoken  to  Moses,  they  concluded,  that  no  authority 
could  be  sacred,  which  opposed  itself  to  their  holy  Theocracy. 
Jesus  was  not  disposed  to  abolish  any  moral  precept  or  rite  in  the 
Jewish  dispensation:  nay  he  said,  it  became  him  to  fulfil  all  right- 
eousness; that  is,  all  the  divine  institutions  whether  moral  or  cer- 
emonious. They  who  neglect  the  Sabbath,  or  imagine,  that  they 
are  absolved  from  its  obligations,  have  neither  lot  nor  part  with 
Christ,  who  in  no  instance  showed  the  least  disrespect;  but  sanc- 
tified the  Sabbath,  the  national  festivals,  and  rites  of  his  people. 
All  that  he  intended  by  performing  cures  on  that  holy  day,  was  cal- 
culated to  show  men,  that  works  of  mercy  or  necessity  do  not  in- 
terfere with  the  religious  observance  of  the  sacred  day  of  rest. 

t  God  was  the  proper  Father  of  Jesus.  This  seems  to  confirm 
the  doctrine  of  the  miraculous  conception,  and  clearly  to  intimate, 
that  God  wa.s  peculiarly  and  exclusively  the  Father  of  Jesus.  The 
force  of  the  Greek  tJto,-,  is  altogether  lost  in  the  common  transla- 
tion. This  passage  in  connection  with  John  1.  1,  14,  3.  13,  5  26, 
6.  38,  62,  8.  58,  and  17.  5,  most  unequivocally  teaches  the  pre- 
existence  and  divine  son-ship  of  Jesus;  and  there  remains  no  alter- 
native but  to  accede  to  the  above  doctrines,  or  take  up  tlie  weap- 
ons and  share  the  fate  of  infidelity.  In  a  word,  it  is  more  honour- 
able to  take  the  open  field  of  Deism,  than  under  the  mask  of  a 
Christian  to  wound  the  Redeemer  in  the  house  of  his  friends. 


DTSCOURSE  AT  THE  PENTECOST.  17S 

whom  he  pleases.  For  indeed  the  Father  judges  no 
man,  but  has  committed  all  judgment  to  the  Son;  that 
all  may  honour*  the  Son  as  th«y  honour  the  Father:  for 
he  who  honours  not  the  Son,  dishonours  the  Father  who 
sent  him  Verily,  verily,  I  say  to  you:  He,  who  hears 
my  doctrine,  and  believes  him  who  sent  me,  has  eternal 
life,  and  comes  not  to  judgment,  but  passes  from  death  to 
life.  Verily,  verily  (say  to  you:  A  time  is  coming,  and 
is  already  preser»t,  when  the  deadf  shall  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Son  of  God;  and  those  who  hear  shall  live.  For 
as  the  Father  has  life  m  himself,  so  he  has  granted  to 
the  Son  also,  to  have  life  in  himself;  and  committed  to 
him  even  the  judicial  authority,  because  he  is  Son  of 
man.  Wonder  not  at  this;  for  a  time  is  coming  in 
which  all  that  are  in  the  tombs,  shall  hear  his  voice;  and 
they,  who  have  done  good,  shall  come  forth  to  a  resur- 

*Gill  observes  on  Mat.  10.  tO,and  John  6.  23,  that  it  was  a  rule 
admitted  among  the  Jews,  that  "a  man's  messenger  is  himself." 
He,  therefore,  who  rejects  the  Son,  acting  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  dishonours  God  who  sent  him.  The  worship  of  Je^us 
seems  to  be  here  inculcated  at  least  in  a  subordinate  sense.  If  the 
Socinian  ask  the  Arian,  why  he  gives  adoration  to  the  Son  of  God, 
and  not  to  saints  or  angels.**  His  reply  is,  the  worship  of  the  one 
is  commanded  and  the  adoration  of  the  others  is  forbidden.  Jesus 
the  Sou  of  God  is  exalted  to  be  Lord  and  Judge,  and  therefore, 
may  be  adored. 

t  Death  is  used  in  a  threefold  sense,  by  the  writers  of  the  holy 
scriptures.  Natural^  Spiritual^  and  Eternal.  The  Jirst  consists 
in  the  extinction  of  the  vital  principle,  and  the  consequent  disso- 
lution of  the  body;  the  second,  in  the  separation  of  the  soul  from 
God's  gracious  intiuence  and  approbation;  the  third,  in  the  final, 
and  eternal  destruction,  and  annihilation  of  both  soul  and  body, 
or  a  judicial  extinction  of  personal  existence.  Spiritual  life  and 
death  are  contrasted  John  5.  24.  A  resurrection  from  both  natu- 
ral  and  spiritual  <ieath  to  natural  and  spiritual  life  is  implied  in  the 
25th  verse,  and  a  general  resurrection  of  mankind,  some  to  spirit- 
ual and  eternal  life,  and  others  to  condemnation  and  eternal  de- 
8tructi)n,  is  clearly  taught  in  the  28th  and  29th  verses.  The  sin- 
ner, wh'»  continues  in  transgression  and  irreconciliation,  lives  a 
dying  life  and  a  living  deatii,  until  God  terminate  his  existence 
by  casting  iiim  into  the  Like,  that  burns  with  fire  and  UrimstOHe, 
which  is  tue  second,  and  will  be  eternal  duAth. 

2% 


174  DISCOURSE    AT   THE   PENTECOST 

rection  of  life,  but  they  who  have  done  evil  to  a  resur- 
rection of  punishment. 

I  can  do  nothing  of  myself;*  as  I  hear,  I  judge  and  my 
decision  is  just;  because  I  seek  not  to  please  myself,  but 
to  please  him  who  sent  me.  Should  I  bear  witness  of 
myself,  my  testimony  would  not  be  valid :f  but  there  is 
another  who  testifies  concerning  me;  and  ye  know  that 
the  testimony  which  he  bears  to  me,  is  true.  Ye  sent  to 
John,  and  he  gave  testimony  to  the  truth,  though  I 
need  not  testimony  from  men,  yet  I  say  these  things, 
that  ye  may  be  saved.  He  was  a  burning  and  shining 
lamp;  and  for  a  time,  ye  were  disposed  to  exult  in  his 
light.  But  I  have  a  greater  testimony  than  John's;  for 
the  works|  which  the  Father  has  commis>ioned  me  to 
perform,  even  those  which  I  am  doing,  bear  testimony, 
that  the  Father  has  sent  me:  and  the  Father,  who  sent 
me,  has,  himself,  borne  witness  to  me.  Have  ye  never 
heard  his  voice  nor  seen  his  likeness  .''§  Or,  have  ye  forgot- 
ten his  declaration,  that  ye  do  not  believe  his  messenger? 
Te  search  the  scriptures,  because  ye  think,  that  in  them 
ye  find   eternal  life;  and   though  they  testify  of  me,  yet 


*  The  Son  can  do  nothing  of  himself.  This  ptirase  must  be  un- 
derstodd  in  a  particular  sense,  as  when  it  is  said,  the  Father 
jtuiges  no  man.  E.oih  these  phrases  mean  no  more,  than  that  the 
Father  and  Son  act  by  the  greatest  harmony  of  design  and  co-op- 
eration. Hence  Jesus  says:  1  and  the  Father  are  one.  John  10.  30. 

t  i  he  testimony  of  one  man,  was  not  of  sufficient  force  to  con- 
firm any  thing  in  a  Jewish  court,  which  required  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses to  make  the  evidence  complete  and  satisfactory.  In  a  fo- 
rensic sense,  not  true,  means  no  more  than  not  proved. 

^'Ihe  most  complete  and  full  evidence,  that  could  have  been 
given  to  the  Jews,  of  the  divinity  of  Christ's  mission,  was  that  stu- 
pendous exhibition  of  divine  power,  displayed  in  the  numerous 
miracles,  which  Jesus  wrought,  accompanied  with  the  most  pure 
and  practical  system  of  divine  truth,  adorned  by  the  most  spotless 
life  and  manners. 

§  The  form  of  God,  is  not  to  be  so  understood  as  to  imply  any 
corporeal  existence;  for  God  is  a  spirit,  without  body,  parts,  or  pas- 
sions; but  such  a  form  or  likeness,  as  God  manifested  when  he  ap- 
peared to  Moses,  on  the  mount,  in  the  appearance  of  fire.  Ex. 
24   17. 


DISCOURSE  AT  THE   PENTECOST.  175 

ye  will  not  come  to  me,  that  ye  may  obtain  life*  I  do 
not  require  honour  from  men,  for  I  know,  that  ye  have 
not  the  love  of  God  in  you.  I  have  come  in  the  name 
of  my  Father,  but  ye  do  not  receive  me.  Should  ano- 
ther come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye  would'  receive. 
How  can  ye  believe,  who  court  approbation,  one  of  ano- 
ther, but  seek  not  the  glory,  which  is  in  the  presence  of 
the  only  God.''  Do  not  think  that  1  shall  become  }our 
accuser  to  the  Father.  Moses,  in  whom  ye  confide,  is 
your  accuser:  for  had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have 
believed  me,  because  he  wrote  concerning  me:  but  since 
ye  believe  not  his  writings,  how  can  ye  believe  my  words.? 

*  All  who  obtain  life  must  come  to  Jesus,  who  is  the  life.  Men 
are  mortal,  entirely  and  totally;  and  if  ever  eternal  life  be  enjoyed, 
it  must  come  throu<;h  union  with  Christ,  by  a  living  fiith.  Should 
men  who  have  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  God,  through  a  Re- 
deemer, misuse  and  despise  that  privilege,  they  will  only  have  a 
return  to  life,  to  receive  the  doom  of  their  irreligion  and  neglect, 
eternal  destruction. 


SECTION  FORTY  SIXTH. 

Discourse  concerning  tradition. 

After  these  things,  Jesus  walked  in  Galilee,  for  he 
would  not  remain  in  Judea,  because  the  Jews  sought  to 
kill  him.  Then  certain  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  who 
came  from  Jerusalem,  resorted  to  Jesus,  But  when  they 
saw  some  of  his  disciples  eating  bread  with  unwashed 
hands,  they  were  offended.  For  the  Pharisees  and  all 
the  Jews,  holding  the  tradition*  of  the  elders,  never  eat 


*  The  error  of  the  Pharisees  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  Roman- 
ists. They  substituted  unauthorized  tradition  in  the  place  of  their 
inspired  writings,  and  ritual  observances  in  the  place  of  spiritual 
worship.  The  ordinances  of  external  religion  are  only  valuable 
as  they  are  the  emblems,  and  the  appointed  means  of  spiritual 
blessings.  While  their  proper  value  is  set  upon  the  records  of 
history,  the  inquiries   of  the  critical,  the  labours  of  the  learned, 


176  DISCOURSE    AT   THE    PENTECOST. 

without  washing  their  hands;  and  if  they  come  from 
market,  they  eatnoi  except  they  dip  their  hands.  Like- 
wise they  observe  many  other  traditions,  as  the  washing 
of  cups,  measures,  brazen  vessels,  and  beds.  Therefore 
the  Pharisees  and  Scribes  asked  him:  Why  do  thy  dis- 
ciples transjiress  the  traditions  of  the  elders,  by  eating 
broad  with  defiled  hands?  But  he  answering,  said  to 
them:  Why  do  ye  transgress  the  conimandment  of  God 
by  your  tradition;  for  ye  set  aside  the  commandments  of 
God,  that  )e  may  hold  the  traditions  of  men.  Hypro- 
crites,  well  has  Isaiah  prophecied  concerning  you,  say- 
inu;:  This  people  draw  nigh  to  me  with  their  mouth, 
and  honour  me  with  their  lips,  but  their  heart  is  estrang- 
ed from  me.  In  vain  do  they  worship  me,  teaching  as 
doctrines,  the  commandments  of  men.  For  God  com- 
manded by  Moses,  saying:  Honour  thy  father  and  mo- 
ther; and  whosoever  reviles  father  or  mother,  let  him  be 
put  to  death.  But  ye  affirm,  that  if  a  man  say  to  his 
father  or  mother,  I  have  devoted  all  that  1  have,  which 


tlie  opinions  of  the  judicious,  the  decisions  of  the  early  Church, 
and  all  the  sources  of  accuiate  inlormatiou,  it  ought  never  to  be 
forgotten,  neither  is  it  forgotten  by  the  Protestant  Churches,  that 
Sciipture  is  the  on^  ui.erriiig  test  of  truth,  to  which  every  conclu- 
si'>n  must  be  submitted.  'I'he  Jews  adopted  many  traditions, 
which  were  not  only  contrary,  but  very  frequently  hostile  to  Scrip- 
ture. '1  he  Romanists  have  been  guilty  of  the  ver^  same  error. 
1  lie  Jews  believed  that  a  man  might  withhold  assistance  from  his 
afflicted  or  poor  parents,  under  the  pretence  that  he  had  dedicated 
his  substance  (or  corban)  to  God,  with  many  other  absurdities,  en- 
umerated at  length  by  Lightloot,  *^choetg-en,  iVleuschen,  Gill,  and 
alluded  to  in  many  places  by  the  Evangelists.  The  Romanists 
have  set  aside  the  plain  and  express  authority  of  Scripture,  add 
fellow  gradual  inventions,  which  they  dignilj  by  the  name  of  tra- 
ditions. They  insist,  for  instance,  on  such  points  as  these — The 
mass  without  communicants — The  denial  of  the  cup  to  the  j.aity 
— The  prohibiting  the  reading  of  Scripture — The  distinction  be- 
tween latria  and  dulia,  Xai^ua.  and  ItiXiix,  in  the  worshipping  ol  an- 
gels, and  saints,  and  God — i'he  use  of  images— The  praj'ing  ia 
an  unknown  tongue — The  mediatorial  offices  of  the  saints,  and  es- 
pecially of  the  Viigin  iVlary — The  assumption  of  the  Virgin,  an 
invention  of  a  very  late  age — The  sevjn  sacraments. 


DISCOURSE   AT  THE   PENTECOST.  17t 

•ould  be  profitable  to  tbee,  ye  absolve  him  from  honour- 
ing; his  father  and  mother, by  his  assistance,  making  void 
the  word  of  God  by  your  traditions.* 

Then  he  called  the    multitude,  and   said   to   them, 

*  The  word  waja^owK,  tradition.,  has  occupied  for  two  thousand 
years,  a  most  distinguished  place  both  in  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian Church  Among  the  Jews,  tradition  signifies  what  is  also 
called  the  omHaw,  which  they  distinguish  from  the  written  law; 
this  last  contains  the  Mosaic  precepts,  as  found  in  the  Pentateuch; 
the  former  the  traditions  of  the  elders,  i  e.  traditions  or  doctrines, 
that  had  been  successively  handed  down  from  Moses  thrttugh  every 
generation,  but  no'  committed  to  vriting.  The  Jews  feign  that 
when  God  gave  Moses  the  written  law,  he  gave  him  also  the  oral 
law,  which  is  the  interpretation  of  the  former.  This  law  IVIoses 
at  first  delivered  to  Aaron:  then  to  his  sons  Eleazar  and  Ithamar 
— and  after  these  to  the  seventy-two  Elders,  who  were  six  of  the 
most  eminent  men  chosen  out  of  each  of  the  twelve  tribes.  These 
seventy-two,  with  Moses  and  Aaron,  delivered  it  again  to  all  the 
heads  of  the  people;  and  afterward  to  the  congregation  at  large, 
They  say  also,  that  before  Moses  died,  he  delivered  this  oral  law, 
or  system  of  traditions,  to  Joshua,  and  Joshua  to  the  Elders, 
which  succeeded  him — thev  to  the  Prophets,  and  the  Puophets  to 
each  other,  till  it  came  to  Jerkmiah,  who  delivered  it  to  B\kuoh 
his  scribe,  who  repeated  it  to  Ezra,  who  delivered  it  to  the  men  of 
the  great  synagogue,  the  last  of  whom  was  8imon  the  just,  ^j 
Simon  x\\kt  just  it  was  delivered  to  Antigonus  of  Socho;  by  him 
to  Jo&E,  the  son  of  Jochanan;  by  him  to  Jose,  the  son  of  Joezer; 
by  him  to  Nathan  the  jlrbelile,  and  Joshua  the  son  of  Perachiah, 
and  b^  them  to  Judah  the  son  of  Tabbai,  and  Simeon,  the  son  of 
Sliatah;  and  by  them  to  Shemaiah  and  Abtalion;  ami  by  them  to 
HiLLELj  and  by  Hillel  to  SiMEon  his  son,  the  same  who  took  Christ 
ill  his  arms  when  brought  to  the  temple  to  be  presented  to  the 
Lord:  by  Simeon  it  was  delivered  to  Gamaliel  his  son,  the  pre- 
ceptor of  St.  Paul,  who  delivered  it  to  Simeon  his  son,  and  he  to 
Rab.  Judah  HAKHODEhH,  his  son,  who  compiled  and  digested  it  in- 
to 'he  book  which  is  called  the  Mishnaj  to  explain  which  the  two 
Tulmuds,  called  the  Jerusalem  and  Babylonish  Talmuds  were 
compiled,  whicii  are  also  called  the  Gemara^  or  complement,  be- 
cause by  these  the  oiallaw,  or  Mishna,  is  fully  explained. 

The  Jerwalem  Talmud  was  completed  auout  A.  D.  300;  and  the 
Babylonish  Talmud  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century. 
This  Talmud  was  printed  at  Amsterdam  in  12  vols,  folio.  These 
contain  the  whole  of  the  traditions  oj  the  Dlders,  a.nd  have  so  ex- 
plained away  the  words  of  God,  that  our  Lurd  might  well  say,  ye 
have  made  the  word  of  God  of  no  effect  by  your  traditions. 


178  DISCOURSE   AT   THE    PENTECOST. 

Hearken  ye  all  to  me,  and  understand.  Nothing;  from 
without  can  defile  a  man  by  entering  into  him;  but  the 
things  which  come  out  of  a  man,  are  those  that  defile 
him.  If  any  man  have  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  And 
when  he  went  into  a  house  from  the  multitude,  his  disci- 
ples, coming  to  him  said:  Knowest  thou  how  the  Phari- 
sees were  offended  on  hearing  that  saying.'*  He  answered, 
every  plant  shall  be  extirpated,  which  my  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther has  not  planted.  Let  them  alone.  They  are  blind 
leaders  of  the  blind.  Then  Peter  addressing  him,  said: 
Explain  to  us  this  parable.  Jesus  answered:  Are  ye 
also  still  void  of  understanding."*  Do  ye  not  perceive, 
that  nothing  from  without,  entering  into  a  man  by  the 
mouth,  can  defile  him;  because  it  enters  not  into  his 
heart,  but  into  the  stomach,  and  passes  into  that  canal* 
which  purifies  all  meats.  But  that  which  proceeds  from 
the  mouth,  comes  from  the  heart,  and  pollutes  the  man. 
For  from  within,  out  of  the  heart  of  man,  pr(jceed  evil 
thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  murders,  thefts,  covet- 
ousness,  wickedness,  deceit,  unchastity,  an  evil  eye,  false 
witness,  calumnies,  pride  and  foolisnness.  All  these 
evil  things  come  from  within,f  and  defile  a  marj;  but  to 
eat  with  unwashed  hands  does  not  pollute  the  man. 

* Mimentary  Canal  or  alimentary  duct  is  a  name  s;iveM  to  the 
whole  of  those  passages  which  the  food  passes  through  from  the 
mouth  to  the  anus.  This  duct  may  be  said  to  be  the  true  charac- 
teristic of  an  animal;  there  being  no  animal  without  it,  and  what- 
ever has  it,  being  properly  ranged  under  the  class  of  animals. 
Plants  receive  their  nourishment  from  the  numerous  fibres  of  their 
roots,  but  have  no  common  receptacle  for  digesting  the  food  re- 
ceived, or  for  carrying  off  the  excrements.  But  in  all,  even  the 
lowest  degree  of  animal  life,  we  may  observe  a  stomach,  if  not  also 
intestines,  even  where  we  cannot  perceive  the  least  formation  of 
any  organs  of  the  senses,  unless  that  common  one  of  feeling,  as  in 
oysters. 

tif  all  these  evil  things  come  from  within,  and  proceed  from 
the  heart,  must  not  the  human  heart  be  desperately  wicked?  Jer. 
17.  9.  But  if  these  come  from  within,  then  they  are  not  the  mere 
effects  of  example  or  imitation.  Example  may  draw  out  the  in- 
herent depravity  of  the  heart,  but  it  does  not  first  produce  it 


SECTION  FORTY  SEVENTH. 

The  Syro-Phenician  Woman. 

Then  Jesus  departed  thence,  and  went  into  the  borders 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon  And  being;  desirous  that  none 
should  know  him,  he  went  into  a  house,  but  he  could  not 
be  concealed  For  lo!  a  woman  of  Canaan,*  of  the 
same  confines,  whose  young  daughter  had  an  inapure 
spirit,  having  heard  of  him,  came  and  prostrating  herself 
at  his  feet,  cried:  Master,  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on 
me;  my  daughter  is  grievously  afflicted  by  a  demon. 
But  the  woman  being  a  Syro-Phenicianf  by  birth,  and  a 
' ^ ■ — — 

there.  This  passage,  in  connection  with  Gen.  6,  5,  12;  Rom.  3. 
12;  and  5,  12,  18.  clearly  proves  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity, 
arising  from  that  corrupt  nature,  which  all  men  have  derived 
from  Adam's  defection,  and  is  on  account  of  his  original  sin, 
tnmsmitted  to  all  his  posterity.  However  this  doctrine  be  op- 
posed, mistaken,  or  misrepresented,  there  is  no  doctrine  in  the 
moral  world,  so  consentaneous  to  the  general  testimony  of  scrip- 
ture, and  the  uniform  experience  of  mankind,  as  that  which  at- 
tributes the  introduction  of  moral  evil  to  Adam's  sin,  and  traces 
the  depravity  of  the  human  heart  to  the  same  origin.  It  may  be 
proper  at  all  times  when  we  speak  of  this  subject,  to  use  caution. 
Adam's  sin  entailed  moral,  natural,  and  eternal  death  on  all  his 
posterity,  yet  the  punishment  of  men  by  the  sentence  ot  a  right- 
eous tribunal,  will  be  executed,  chiefly  on  account  of  yielding  to 
the  evil  propensities  of  a  depraved  nature. 

*  The  several  names  given  to  this  woman  by  the  Evangelists, 
require  illustration,  to  obviate  the  seeming  discordance.  She  is 
de-iy;nated  by  Matthew,  a  woman  of  Canaan,  i.  e.  a  Canaanite, 
or  descendant  from  Canaan,  Judges  1.  31.  Though  the  seven  na- 
tions inhabiting  J udea  before  the  conquest  of  Joshua,  were  de- 
Si  ended  from  Canaan,  yet  the  Canaanites  were  frequently  enu- 
meiated  as  one  of  these  nations,  Deut.  7.  1,  Josh.  9.  1.  Ca- 
naaii  and  his  tirst-born,  Sidon,  occupied  the  tract  of  land  about 
Sidon  and  Tyre,  Gen.  lO.  15. 

t  Mark  denominates  her  a  Syro-Phenician,  which  is  thus  ex- 
plained: Phenicia  was  included  in  Syria,  according  to  Pliny,  and 
the  northern  part  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  comprehending  the 
country  about  Tyre  and  Sidon,  was  called  Syro-Phcnicia,  being 
chiefly  inhibited  by  the  descendants  of  Canaan.  Indeed,  the 
Canaanites  and  Phenicians,  according  to  Bochart,  were  the  same 
people.     This  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  Septuagint,  which  fre- 


180  THE    SYRO-PHENICIAN  WOMAN. 

Greek*,  though  she  besought  him  to  cast  the  demon  out 
of  her  daughter,  he  gave  her  no  reply. 

Then  the  disciples  came  and  besoug:ht  him,  saying: 
Send  her  away,  for  she  cries  after  us.  But  he  answered: 
I  am  not  sent,  except  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  stock  of 
Israel.  Nevertheless  she  drew  near,  and  prostrating 
herself,  said:  Master,  help  me.  Jesus  replied:  Let  the 
children  be  first  satisfied;  for  it  is  not  meet  to  take, and 
cast  the  children''s  bread  to  dogs.  She  replied:  True, 
sir,  yet  the  dogs  under  the  table,  eat  the  crumbs  of  the 
children,  which  fall  from  their  master's  table  Jesus  an- 
swering, said  to  her:  0  woman,  great  is  thy  faith;  for 
this  saying,  be  it  unto  thee  according  to  thy  request. 
Go  thy  way,  the  demon  is  gone  out  of  thy  daughter. 
And  from  that  instant  her  daughter  was  healed.  Then 
the  woman  went  home,  and  found  her  daughter  laid  on 
a  bed,  the  demon  having  departed  from  her. 

quently  confountts  Canaan  and  I'henicia  as  convertible  terms. 
Compare  Gen.  46.  10    Ex.  6.  l.^i.  and  l6.  55;  Josh.  5.  12. 

*  This  woman  is  called  a  Greek.  According;  to  the  Jewish 
manner  of  distin;:uishino;  between  themselves  and  others.  After 
the  Macedonian  conquests,  Greek  became  the  common  name  for 
idolater,  and  was  used  as  synonymous  with  Gentile. 

This  woman  was  pi  obably  the  first  public  instance  of  an  idola- 
trous Gentile's  a[)plication  to  Jesus:  and  in  this  interesting  nar- 
rative, there  are  many  particulars  worthy  of  our  attention  and 
admiration.  1.  Her  deep  interest  in  the  concerns  of  her  daughter 
■which  occasioned  her  application.  Her  daughter  being  tormented 
bv  a  demon,  as  soon  as  she  heard  of  the  name  of  Jesus,  she  hasten- 
ed to  him  to  implore  his  aid  tor  the  relief  of  her  daughter.  2. 
The  repulsive  discouragement  she  encountered  when  she  address- 
ed the  Saviour  and  his  disciples,  who  at  first  manifest  all  the  pre- 
judice and  abhorrence  of  the  Jewish  nation  towards  the  idola- 
trous Gentiles.  Jesus  speaking  in  the  language,  and  under  the 
apparent  impression  of  Jewish  j^rejudice,  compares  her  lo  a  dog, 
and  intimates  that  the  benefits  ot  his  mission,  were  not  to  be  ex- 
tended to  such  worthless  and  unholy  beings  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan.  3.  Her  humility,  taith,  perseverance,  and  success, 
strike  us  with  admiration.  She  acknowledges  the  justice  of  re- 
jection, on  account  of  her  national  and  moral  degradation;  but 
pleads,  that  as  a  dog  profits  by  his  obsequious  and  faithful  atten- 
tion to  his  master,  she  might  hope  to  profit  by  his  condescensioD. 
Hence  she  persists  untU  Jesus  accords  her  request. 


SECTION  FORTY  EIGHTH. 
Cure   of  a  Dkaf  and  Dumb  Man. 

Then  Jesus  leavino:  the  confines  of  Tyre  and  Sidoii 
came  through  the  precincts  of  Decapolis.  to  the  cf  ast 
of  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and  ascended  a  mountain,  on  which 
he  sat  down.  And  the  people  brought  to  him  a  deaf 
man,  who  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech,  and  besouijht 
Jesus  to  lay  his  hands  on  him.  And  Jesus  taking  hira 
apart  from  the  multitude,  spat  on  his  fingers,  and  put 
them  into  the  man's  ears,  and  touched  his  tongue; 
then  looking  towards  heaven,  he  sighed  and  said:  Be 
opened.  And  immediately  his  ears  were  opened,  and 
his  tongue  loosed;  and  he  spake  distinctly. 

And  Jesus  commanded  them  not  to  tell  any  man,  but 
the  more  he  enjoined  silence,  the  more  extensively  they 
proclaimed  his  miracles;  and  being  exceedingly  amazed, 
they  said:  He  has  done  all  things  well!  He  makes  the 
deaf  to  hear,  and  the  dumb  to  speak.  Therefore  great 
multitudes  flocked  to  him,  bringing  with  them  the  lame, 
and  the  blind,  and  the  dumb,  and  the  maimed,  and  many 
others,  and  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  he  healed 
them;  so  that  the  people  were  inexpressibly  amazed, 
when  they  saw  him  heal  the  maimed,  and  cause  the  dumb 
to  speak,  the  lame  to  walk,  and  the  blind  to  see;  and 
they  glorified  the  God  of  Israel.* 

*  The  miracles  wrought  bv  Jesus,  struck  with  astonishment  the 
multitudes,  many  of  whom  were  heathen  idolators;  but  on  seeing 
Jt  :^us  display  such  powers,  they  began  to  adore  the  God  of  Israel, 
to  whose  almighty  agency  Jesus  ascribed  these  miracles.  They 
also  bare  testimony  to  the  benevolence  and  wisdom  of  Christ's 
conduct  and  actions,  saying:  He  has  done  all  things  well! 

Such  was  the  testimony  of  Christ's  friends  and  enemies,  and 
such  will  ever  be  the  belief  of  all  that  know  him.  From  the  time 
he  resigned  his  exalted  seat  in  the  Heavens,  to  become  our  kins- 
man redeemer,  in  his  incarnation,  public  ministry,  blessed  exam- 
ple, gracious  miracles,  sacrificial  death,  public  resurrection,  and 
priestly  intercession  at  the  throne  of  God,  he  has  done  all  things 

24> 


SECTION  FORTY  NINTH. 

Jesus  feeds  four  thousand  Men. 

About  this  time  the  multitude  being  very  orreat,  and 
havinof  nothing  to  eat,  Jesus  called  his  disciples  to  him, 
and  said  to  them:  I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude, 
because  they  have  continued  vyith  me  three  days,  and 
now  they  have  nothing  to  eat;  and  as  some  of  them  have 
cotne  from  a  great  distance,  I  will  not  send  them  home 
fasiing,  lest  they  faint  by  the  way.  But  his  disciples  an- 
swered: Whence  can  we  supply  so  great  a  multitude 
with  bread,  in  this  vMlderness.''  Jesus  asked  them:  How 
many  loaves  have  ye.'^  They  replied:  Seven,  and  a  few 
small  fishes.  Aud  he  commanded  the  people  to  recline 
on  the  ground.  Then  he  took  the  seven  loaves,  and  the 
fishes;  and  liaving  given  thanks,  he  brake  them,  and  gave 
to  his  disciples,  and  they  set  them  before  the  people.  So 
they  all  ate,  and  when  they  were  satisfied,  they  collected 
seven  baskets  full  of  the  fragments  that  remained.  Now 
they  who  had  eaten,  were  four  thousand  men,  besides 
women  and  children  Then  having  dismissed  the  mul 
titude,  he  embarked  in  the  vessel  with  his  disciples,  and 
went  into  the  precincts  of  Dalmauutha,  within  the  con- 
fines of  iVIagdala  * 


well!  And  in  the  great  day,  when  he  shall  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness,  though  Deists  and  Infidels  be  found  speechless, 
earth  and  heaven  shall  acclaim:  He  has  done  all  things  well.' 

*  Vs  hitby  says  Mai^dala  was  a  city  and  territory  beyond  Jor- 
dan, on  the  banks  ot  Gadara,  and  Reland  mentions  a  castle  called 
Maadala,  which  he  thinks  gave  name  to  this  region.  Either  Mag- 
da!a  here  implies  the  name  of  the  district,  and  Dalma:.utha,  the 
chief  towi;,  (T  if  Magdala  denote  a  city,  Dalmanutha  was  a  town 
within  its  borders. 


SECTION  FIFTIETfL 

The  Pharisees  seek  a  Sign. 

Now  whilst  the  people  were  crowding;  too^ether,  some 
•f  tlie  Scribes,  Pliarisees,  and  Sadducees  drew  near,  and 
bec;an  to  tempt  Jesus,  by  asking  him  que  tions,  and  en- 
treating him  to  shew  them  a  sign  Irom  heaven  But  he 
answered  them,  saying:  When  the  sky  is  red  *  in  the 
evening,  ye  say:  It  \^  ill  be  fair  weather:  but  in  the  morn- 
ing, you  say:  There  will  be  a  storm  to  day,  for  the  sky 
is  red  and  lowering.  When  ye  see  a  cloud  rising  in  the 
we-t,  ye  say:  It  will  rain  inimediately.  and  so  it  happens. 
And  when  the  south  wind  blows,  ye  say:  It  will  be  hot, 
and  it  happens  accordingly.  Thus  ye  discern  the  ap- 
pearance of  t^e  sky,  but  are  unablef  to  understand  the 
signs  of  the  times.  Why  do  ye  not  of  yourselves  judge 
what  is  right.'^ 

Then  Jesus  groaning  in  spirit,  said  to  them:  This 
evil  and  adulterous|  generation  seeks  a  sign,  but  none 
shdl  be  given  them,  except  that  of  the  prophet  Jonah. 

•    *  If  fiery  re<l,  the  glowing  globe  descends, 
Hiirii  winds  and  furious  tempests  he  portends: 
But  if  his  cheeks  are  swoln  with  livid  blue, 
He  bodes  wet  weather  by  his  watery  hue 

Dry  (Jell's  Virgil. 
tThe  MSS.  and  versions  are  somewhat  confusefl  and  irregular 
in  the  reading  of  this  clause,  but  the  sense  I  have  given,  is  of  suffi- 
cient authority,  and  accuracy.  The  Pharisees  could  form  a  toler- 
ably correct  opinion  of  the  weather,  from  signs  afforded  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  heavens,  but  they  seemed  too  far  blinded  with  pre- 
judice, to  perceive,  by  the  signs  of  the  times,  that  those  very  times 
were  the  days  of  the  promised  Messiah.  Hdw  many  precious 
se.)Sons  of  doing  and  receiving  good,  are  lost  to  the  unbelieving 
and  spiiitually  blinded  part  of  mankind!  and  now  manv  like  these 
Plarisees,  are  possessed  of  considerable  kno\\ledge,  in  matters 
that  are  insignificant  anti  transient,  whilst  true  wisdom,  wi;icl)  is 
invaluable  for  time  and  eternity,  is  neglected  and  even  some'imes 
despised. 

X  As  the  Jews  under  the  Old  Covenant,  were  consideted  in  mar- 
riage contract  with  the  Lord  Jehovah,  all  ui  f;  itiitiilnrss  and  diso- 
edience  did  violence  to  that  contract,  and  hence,  all  who  were 


184  THE  PHARISEES  SEEK  A  SIGN. 

For  as  Jonah  was  in  the  stomach  of  a  great  tisli,*  three 
days  and  three  nights,  so  the  son  of  man  will  be  three 
days  and  three  nights,f  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth.  The 
Ninevites  will  rise,  in  the  judgment,  a;^ainbt  the  men  of 
this  generation,  and  cause  them  to  be  condemned;  be- 
cause they  repented  when  warned  by  Jonah,  and  behold 
something  greater  than  Jonah,  is  here.  The  Q^ueen  of   th 

guilty  of  reliu;ious  d(»fection,  were  denominated  adulterous.  But 
besides  this  view  of  the  subject,  the  Jews  had  become  so  literally 
an  adulterous  race,  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  that  Rabbi  Jocha'ian 
B^>n  Zarchi  abrogated  the  trial  by  the    bitter  waters  of  jealousy. 

*  Tids  fish  has  been  generally  called  a  whale,  but  without  any  au- 
thority. Bochart  ha*  proved,  that  this  was  a  fish  of  the  Shark  kind. 
M'liales  are  rarely,  if  ever,  found  in  the  Mediterranean  sea  into 
which  Jonah  was  cast,  but  Sharks  are  natives  of  these  waters;  and 
sevei  al  of  them  have  been  taken,  in  whose  stomachs  men  have 
been  found  whole,  whereas  the  throat  of  a  whale  will  not  admit  any 
thing  larger  than  a  man's  arm. 

t  Tliis  space  of  time  is  not  to  he  considered  astronomically,  but 
by  Synecdoche,  which  puts  a  part  for  the  whole.  It  is  of  great  ini- 
p-'rtance  to  the  right  understanding  of  this  passage,  to  know,  that 
th'-  Easterns  often  reckoned  a  part  of  a  day  for  a  whole  day.  In 
dittl-rent  parts  of  scripture,  something  is  said  to  be  done  after  three 
days  whej;  it  was  transacted  on  the  third.  Compare  Esther  4.  16, 
and  5.  1;  and  2nd  Chron.  10.  5,  ]2.  See  also  Lightfoot  and  Wolfe 
on  ihis  passage.  lii  this  sense  the  phrase  was  understood  by  the 
Jews,  Mat.  27  63,  64.  Thus  the  Roman  Lustrum  and  Grecian 
Olynij.iad,  which  included  only  four  eiitirr  years,  is  often  used  for 
five  years,  by  their  ancient  writers  See  Hammond  on  this  place, 
and  Casaubon  ay;ainst  Baro'dus.  One  entire  week,  or  seven  days, 
is  also  called  eight  days  in  the  Jewish  style,  Luke  2.  21.  So  also 
the  same  space  of  time,  which  Luke  calls,  about  eifiht  days,  Mark 
denominates,  aftir  six  days.  Mat.  17.  1,  Maik  9.  '2,  and  Luke  9.  28. 
'I'iie  Hebrews  had  no  ttiiii  ct>rrespoiidiiig  to  [\\ii  uslronomical  w  nat- 
ural day  of  twenty  four  hours,  and  therefore  they  calculated  by 
nigt.ts  and  days,  begin /'ing  to  reckon  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun. 
Mark  1.  32,  Luke  4.  40.  The  b<»dy  of  our  Jioni  was  taken  from 
the  Cross  and  buried,  a  htlle  before  six  ociock,  on  Friday  even- 
ing, for  the  Evangelist  informs  us,  Jolui  19.  31,  that  the  Jews  de- 
sired the  body  to  De  taken  down  before  the  Sabbath  began,  which 
according  to  their  custom,  bejian,  at  that  season  of  the  year,  a  few 
minutes  after  six  o'clock  on  Friday  evening.  The  time  therefore, 
during  which  our  ]>ord  lay  in  the  grave,  was  about  36  hours:  that 
is  from  sun  set,  on  Friday  evening,  to  sun  rise,  on  the  morning  of 


THE  PHARISEES  SEEK  A  SIGN.  185 

South*  will  rise,  at  the  judgment,!  ag^ainst  this  genera- 
tion, and  cause  it  to  be  condemned;  because  she  came 
fiotn  the  extremities  of  the  land,  to  hear  the  wis- 
dom of  Solomon,  and  behold  here  is  something  greater 
than  Sohjmon. 

But  to  what  shall  I  compare  the  men  of  this  genera- 
tion? They  resenible  children  sitting  in  the  streets,  and 
calling  to  their  companions,  saying:  We  have  played  on 
the  pipe  for  you,  but  ye  have  not  danced.  We  have 
sung  mournful  songs|  for  you,  but  ye  have  not  wept. 
When  John  the  Baptist  came  abstaining  from  bread  and 
wine,  they  said:  He  is  possessed  of  a  demon.  The  Son 
of  man  is  come  using  both  and  they  say:  Behold  a  glut- 
ton and  drunkard,  an  associate  of  Tax-gatherers  and  sin- 
ners.    But  wisdom  is  honoured  by  all  her  children. 

When  an  unclean  spirit   has   gone  out  of  a  man,  he 

the  Christian  Sabbath.  This  is  the  period  of  time  during  which 
Augustine  tells  Oro-ius,  he  had  learned  from  the  Church,  our  Mas- 
ter was  confined  to  the  grave. 

*  This  Queen  of  the  South  or  Sheba,  was  according  to  some 
Jewish  writers,  referred  to  by  Bochart  and  others,  Queen  Nicolaa 
ot  Jeman,  in  Arabia  Felix.  In  1  Kings  10.  1,  she  is  called  queen 
of  Sheba,  but  Sheba  was  one  of  the  sons  of  Joktan,  a  grandson  of 
Arphaxad,  who  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  Arabia,  called 
Jeman,  or  the  South. 

t  All  nations  of  antiquity  believed  in  a  judgment  after  death; 
and  the  holy  scriptures  take  that  opinion,  as  an  acknowledged  doc- 
trine, on  which  their  sacred  writers  base  their  most  solemn  warn- 
ings, and  pious  admonitions.  To  deny,  therefore,  a  judgment  to 
come,  or  limit  it  to  the  present  scene  of  existence,  is  to  set  up  thfe 
arrogance  of  self  love  over  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  and  the 
testimony  of  divine  Revelation.  In  that  judgment  it  will  be  more 
tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  than  for  those,  who  shall  have 
heard,  and  neglected  or  despised  the  gospel  of  Jesus. 

t  There  is  here  an  allusion  to  the  funeral  dirges  of  antiquity, 
which  were  sung  and  piped  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  the  feelings 
and  sympathy  of  the  attendants.  The  meaning  of  the  parable 
probably  is,  that  as  persons  who  played  or  mourned,  seemed  to  lose 
their  labour,  when  no  sympathy  of  joy  or  grief,  was  manifested  by 
their  hearers,  so  God's  message  to  the  Jews,  both  by  John  and 
Jesus,  was  equally  ineffectual,  in  producing  any  change  of  feeling 
or  action,  among  this  rebellious  and  blinded  people. 


186  THE  PHARISEES  SEEK  A  SIGN. 

Tvanders*  over  parched  deserts,  speking;  a  resting  place. 
But  finding  none,  he  says:  I  will  return  to  my  house, 
T\ hence  I  came.  And  having  returned,  he  finds  it  emp- 
ty, swept,  and  put  in  order.  Then  he  g;oes  and  brings 
with  him  seven  other  spirits,  more  wicked  than  himself; 
and  taking  possession,!  they  dwell  there;  and  the  last 
state  of  that  man,  becomes  worse  than  the  first.  Thus 
shall  it  fare  with  this  evil  generation.  Then  leaving 
them,  he  embarked  in  the  vessel  again,  and  returned  to 
the  opposite  shore. 

*  AcconJing:  to  the  Orphic  demonology,  evil  spirits  were  divided 
into  five  classes,  agreeably  to  the  different  rei:;ion!=  of  their  ab"dej 
Celestial,  Aerial,  "^h'restriul,  Aquatic,  and  Subterranean  ■lemons. 
This  demon  is  represented  as  wanderinii;  through  parched  deserts, 
or  uninhabited  lands,  and  finds  no  rest,  because  he  finds  no  <nan, 
in  which  he  might  jjritify  the  evil  propensities  acquired,  wtren  in 
a  human  body.  This  passaj;e  shows  that  spirits,  in  a  separate 
State,  have  the  same  dispositions,  which  ruh'd  them  in  connection 
nvith  the  body;  and  therefore  (hey  must  ever  be  wretched,  until 
either  regenerated  or  destroyed. 

t  Those  who  deny  the  reality  of  possessi()ns,  make  our  Lord,  in 
this  place,  to  draw  a  simile  from  a  mere  fancy,  and  thus  render 
his  argument  vain  and  ("utile.  The  reality  of  demoniacal  poss<  s- 
sions  must  therefore  be  admitted,  to  give  either  force  to  tho  argu- 
ment, or  rhetorical  propriety  to  the  la  .guage  of  Jesus.  Had  the 
doctrine  of  demons  been  a  vulgar  error,  our  Lord  would  never 
have  adduced  it  as  the  basis  of  his  public  address  to  the  Scribes, 
Pharisees,  and  Sadducees;  some  of  whom  denied  the  doctrine,  and 
others  were  sufficiently  critical  and  captious  to  ex>;ose  the  fallacy 
or  weakness  of  liis  argument.  He,  theretire,  who  wiuld  deriy  the 
doctiiiie  ot  'iemoniucal  possessions,  a  future  j'.dgment,  and  a  fu- 
ture At//,  reduces  the  New  Testament  tu  a  level  with  th-  uetep- 
tious  responst^s  of  the  Dtdphic  oracle,  and  thereby  lays  the  foun- 
dation of  Atheism  and  profanity. 


SECTION  FIFTY  FIRST. 

Caution  against  false  Doctrines. 

Now  when  tlie   disciples  had   returned  to  this    side, 
Jesus  charged  them,  to   take  heed,  and  beware  of  the 


CAUTION  AGAINST  FALSE  DOCTRINES.  187 

leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees;  and  also  of  the 
leavea  of  Herod.  Wherefore  they  reasoned  among;  thQ^n- 
Sflves,  saying;:  This  is  because  we  have  brought  no 
bread,  for  thev  had  forgotten  to  take  in  bread;  neither 
was  there  in  the  vessel,  more  than  one  loaf  When 
Jesus  percf^ived,  he  said  to  them:  0  ye  distrustful  ones, 
why  reason  ye  among  yourselves,  on  account  of  having 

For  the  illustration  of  this  section,  it  maybe  necessary  briefly 
to  *late;  1.  What  were  the  erroneous  opinions  of  the  Pharisees, 
SaHducees.  anH  Herodians.  2.  That  men  are  respDnsible  for  er- 
roiipous  or  pernicious  sentiments:  3  That  we  ought  to  be  very 
cautious  both  of  receiving  erroneous  opinions,  and  of  acting  under 
their  influence. 

1  The  two  first  of  these  sects,  very  probably  sprang  up  together, 
about  two  hundred  vears  bpfore  Christ,  having  their  origin  in  a 
controversy  ^bout  t^e  dcirree  of  importance  and  authority,  thit 
sho'ld  be  iittributed  to  the  traditions  of  the  elders.  The  Pharisees 
maiiifained  4he  oral  law  or  traditions  to  be  equally  binding  as  the 
written  law  or  scriptures;  and  the  Siddu(  ees.  utterly  rejecting 
all  cbliiration  to  the  oral,  acknowledged  submission  as  due  alone 
to  the  letter  of  the  written  law.  Hence  the  Pharisees,  so  called, 
from  a  Hebrew  word  which  signifies  to  separate,  paid  the  greatest 
attention  to  traditions,  ceremonies,  and  matters  of  small  import- 
ance, and  neglected  the  holy  commandment;  and  therefore  soon 
sunk  into  the  mo-^t  degraded  and  burdensome  superstition; 
whilst  the  Sadducees,  socalle'i  from  Sadoc,  their  founder,  ran  into 
the  very  opposite  extreme,  and  became  as  great  fanatics  in  scepti- 
cism and  infidelity,  as  the  Pharisees,  in  the  humiliating  follies  of 
superstition. 

As  the  Saddu  e'^s  denied  a  failure  sfate,  and  consequently  a 
future  retribution,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  their  creed  would  oifer 
no  obstacle  to  political  accommodation.  Hence  they  readily  ac- 
ceded to  thedesiies  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  his  son,  Herod  the 
te'rarch  of  Galilee,  in  their  attempts  to  accommodate  the  Jewish 
religion  and  sacred  polity,  to  the  pagan  rites  of  venal  Rome  From 
this  pliancy  of  the  Sadducean  religion,  originated  the  sect  of  the 
Htrodiins  who  drawing  the  Epicurean  or  libertine  conclusion 
frooi  the  infidel  creed  oft  .e  Sadducees,  thought  it  most  wise,  to 
make  trie  best  of  the  time  that  now  is.  and  shape  their  pretended 
religion  to  the  profit,  popularity,  or  fashions  of  the  times.  Hence 
the  leason  why  one  Evani^elist  cads  this  same  heresy,  the  leaven 
of  the  Sad'lucees.  ami  another  denominates  it  the  leaven  of  Herod. 
Compare  Mat.  16.  6,  aaU  Mark  8.   15.     The  ie«ven  therefore  of 


188  CAUTION  AGAINST  FALSE  DOCTRINES. 

brought  no  bread.  Do  ye  not  understand  nor  reflect? 
Are  your  hearts  still  callous?  Having;  eyes,  can  ye  not 
see?  and  having; ears,  can  ye  not  hear?  or  are  ye  unable 
to  remember?  When  I  distributed  five  loaves  among 
five  thousand,  how  many  baskets  full  of  fragments  did 

the  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  Herodians  againsi  which  Christ 
cautions  his  disciples,  are  these  erroneous  doctrines: 

1  The  Pharisaic  doctrine  of  fate  or  the  modern  doctrine  of  ne- 
cessity, connected  with  a  mere  external  form  of  ceremonies  with- 
out the  engagedness  of  the  lieart.  See  what  has  been  said  in  the 
seventh  and  forty-sixth  sections,  pp.  41,  175,  178 

2  The  Sadducean  doctrine  of  no  future  existence,  or  retribu- 
tion; and  consequently  the  negative  dogmas,  of  no  spirit,  no  angel, 
no  future  judgment,  no  awful  Hell. 

3  The  Herodian  doctrine  of  political  accommodation,  which 
accedes  to  whatever  may  be  most  popular,  or  best  adapted  to  the 
reigning  prince  passion,  or  prejudice  of  the  times.  Now  every 
man  may  perceive,  that  any  one  of  the  above  doctrines  must  strike 
at  the  very  vitals  of  true  religion;  for  if  the  doctrine  of  fate,  neces- 
sity, or  absolute  predestinarianism  be  true,  we  have  no  more  rea- 
son to  approve,  or  disapprove  of  our  actions,  than  w  e  have  to  blame 
or  praise  the  planets  for  pursuing  their  course,  or  heavy  bodies 
for  falling,  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  gravitation.  Alike  danger- 
ous was  that  other  Pharisaical  dogma,  that  religion  was  a  mere  ex- 
ternal exercise  of  the  body,  by  a  rigorous  observance  of  ceremo- 
nies, without  the  exercise  of  the  heart,  and  a  scrupulous  re- 
gard to  the  spirit  of  tie  divine  law.  This  latter  opinion  leaves 
nothing  to  religion,  but  the  shadow  without  substance,  or  a  body 
without  a  soul.     See  section  twenty-eighth,  p.  109. 

Nor  can  there  ever  be  true  religion,  nor  any  system  of  truth 
and  piety,  where  the  Sadducean  doctrines  of  no  Heil,  no  judg- 
ment to  come,  and  no  future  accountability  receive  countenance, 
or  obain  ascendency.  Such  an  erroneous  heresy  spunges  religion 
and  piety  from  the  heart,  effaces  the  very  shadows  of  religion  and 
morality  lr«»ni  the  world,  and  introduces  the  blackest  cloud  of  in- 
fidelity^ that  ever  poured  its  sweeping  storm,  or  scattered  its  de- 
vouring fires,  on  our  devoted  world.  When  such  pernicious  aiid 
infidel  heresies  are  once  imbibed,  no  wonder  that  they  should  soon 
produce  ancient  Herodianism,  or  modern  Hobbism;  for  then  reli- 
gion losts  all  obligation 

Men  are  resjjonsible  for  their  religious  opinions,  and  are  con- 
sequently bamable  in  proportion  to  the  nei^lect  or  indifierence 
they  have  manif  sted.  This  must  api^ear  evident  on  the  least 
reflection.  1.  If  all  sentiments  be  innocent,  then  all  the  divine 
dispensations  are  nugatory  and  useless;  for  a  revelation  sinks  into 


CAUTION  AGAINST  FALSE  DOCTRINES.  189 

ye  carry  awav?  They  answered:  Twelve.  And  when 
seven,  among  four  thousand,  how' many  baskets  full  of 
frn>rmnnts  took  ye  up?  They  said:  Seven  How  is  it 
then,  said  he,  that  ye  do  not  understand,  that  I  spake  not 
to  you  concerning;  bread,  when  I  cautioned  you  against 


insisnifi'^ance,  at  the  very  moment  that  error  is  exalted  to  equal 
empire  with  truth.  2.  All  the  cautions  and  warnings  of  scripture 
are  on  this  supposition,  irrational  and  unnecessary.  3.  \ll  con- 
nectio  '  between  cause  and  effect  must  erase,  or  be  disregarded. 
Iftherpfore,  there  be  ."jny  connection  between  a  man's  mind  and 
hi«  actions,  wh-ch  no  sa  e  man  will  deny;  if  God  have  given  a 
revelati  n,  and  attached  praise  or  blame  to  its  reception  or  rejec- 
tion, if  all  admonitions  and  warnings  of  God  and  his  messengers, 
to  rt'ceive  the  truth,  and  shun  'he  p:ith  of  error  and  folly,  be  not 
worse  than  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,  it  inevitably  follows,  that 
men  are  accountable  for  their  opinions,  as  well  as  for  their  actions. 

S  From  what  we  have  said,  it  also  follows,  that  men  ought  to  be 
verv  cautious  of  imbibing  erroneous  opinions,  as  they  may  have  aa 
awful  and  decisive  influence  in  determining  their  fate  for  time 
and  eternity.  All  appearances  of  evil  should  be  avoided;  and  a 
sober  and  pious  application  of  all  proper  means  for  attaining  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  and  its  renovating  and  life-giving  influ- 
ence, jihould  be  cultivated  and  improved  Inattention  to  the 
means  of  knowing  the  truth  and  receiving  its  benefits,  brought 
that  awful  denunciation  on  Capernaum,  in  which  Jesus  predicts 
that  their  future  destiny  will  be  more  intolerable  than  that  of  the 
unnatural  and  brutish  Sodomites.  Surely  therefore,  if  God  de- 
voted the  Jewish  nation  to  ruin  and  abandonment,  on  account  of 
apostacy  from  the  truth  which  he  had  given  them,  ought  not  every 
man  lotiear  the  words  of  Paul  '  ol.  2.  8:  Beware  that  no  man  spoil 
yon  thiough  philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after  the  tradition  of  men, 
after  the  rudiments  if  this  worLl:  and  to  follow  the  direction  of 
Solomon:  '  ease  my  son,  from  hearing  the  instructions  which  cwse 
to  err  from  the  words  of  knowledge      Prov.  19.  27. 

All  indifference  to  opinions,  or  attendance  on  the  ministry  of 
those  who  attach  little  importance  to  what  thi-y  call  speculative 
notions,  should  be  avoided;  and  some  rules  of  direction  and 
guidance  kept  in  view.  In  our  investigation  oi  truth,  all  princi- 
ples should  be  submitted  to  certain  tests,  and  retained  or  rejected 
accordingly. 

1.  That  doctrine  should  be  suspected,  whicli  cannot  be  clearly 
expressed  in  the  words  of  scripture. 

25 


190  CAUTTON  AGAINST  FALSE  DOCTRINES. 

the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  Then  they 
UJiderstood  that  he  did  not  caution  them  against  the 
loaven  of  bread,  but  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees. 


2.  That  doctrine  is  liable  to  suspicion,  which  cannot  be  sustain- 
ed bv  the  Jewish  number  of  witnesses:  two  or  three  plain  testimo- 
nies from  as  many  different  writers  of  the  Chris'ian  Scriptures. 

3.  That  doctrine  should  be  received  with  caution,  which  is  not 
of  a  practical  tendpncy  agre  ably  to  the  rule  of  Jesus:  Every 
branch  that  bears  not  fruit,  he  takes  away;  by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them. 

4.  No  doctrine  should  be  admitted  or  retained,  which  is  clearly 
contradicted  by  two  or  three  plain  scriptural  testimonies;  for  in- 
consistency destroys  the  force  of  evidence. 

5.  That  doctrine  which  involves  mysticism,  unintelligibility,  or 
absurdity  sh'  uld  be  susr>ected. 

6.  Kvei  y  doctrine  which  manifestly  reflects  on  the  character  of 
God.  or  tends  to  weaken  the  confidence  of  men  in  the  justice  and 
berievolence  of  his  administration,  should  be  rejected. 

7.  Fvery  p'inciple  tending  to  bring  man  nearer  to  his  Creator, 
in  huliness  aud  beneficence,  should  be  encouraged  and  practised. 


SECTION  FIFTY-SECOND. 

Blind  Man  of  Bethsaida. 

Afterwards  Jesus  went  to  Bethsaida,  and  the  people 
brought  to  him  a  blind  man,  whom  they  entreated  him 
to  tr)uch.  And  Jesus  took  the  blind  man  by  the  hand, 
and  led  him  out  of  the  town.     Then  spitting  on  his  eyes, 


Commentators  conjecture,  that  Christ  led  this  man  out  of  the 
city  Bethsaida,  because  he  considered  its  inhabitants  unworthy  of 
beholding  any  more  of  his  miracles  wrought  amongst  them.  When 
any  people  fnj'>y  soflficient  means  of  knowing  God  through  his  Son, 
and  choose  to  conlmue  in  infidelity  and  irreligiou,  it  is  just  that  God 
should  withdraw  his  light  and  truth,  and  abandon  them  to  sin  and  de- 
struction. 


BLIND    MAN  OP  BETHSAID\.  191 

and  laying  his  hands  on  him,  he  asked  him:  What  seest 
thou?  The  man  looking  up,  said:  I  distinguish  men 
from  trees  only  by  their  walking.  Again  Jesus  put  his 
hands  on  the  man's  eyes,  and  caused  him  to  look  up,  and 
his  sight  being  restored,  he  saw  evcy  object  distinctly. 
So  Jesus  sent  him  home,  saying:  Neither  go  into  the 
town,  nor  tell  any  of  its inhabitanis. 


SECTION  FIFTY-THIRD. 

Peter's  confession. 

As  Jesus  journeyed  towards  the  district  of  Cesarea  Phi- 
lippi.*  he  withdrew  from  the  way  for  private  prayer  f  and 
his  disciples  went  with  him.  Then  he  asked  them,  saying: 
Whom  do  men  say  |  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  am.?  '1  hey 

*  Cesarea  Philippi  was  a  town  in  the  province  of  Iiurea  and 
tetiarchy  of  P  lilip,  situated  near  Mount  Libanus.  This  city  was  first 
called  Laish  or  Leshen,  Josh  19,  47,  and  Judges  18,  7,  29;  but  after 
the  conquest  of  the  Danites,  it  was  called  Dan.  The  city  being  re- 
built and  beautitied  by  Philip,  the  tetrarch,  was  named  Cesarea,  in 
honour  of  Tiberius  Caesar;  and  to  distinguish  it  from  Cesarea  on  the 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  Philip  added  his  own  name;  hence  it 
has  been  denominated  Cesarea  Philippi. 

t  The  conduct  of  Jesus  is  worthy  of  all  imitation.  Not  even  the 
fatigue  of  the  journey,  nor  the  company  of  the  multitude  can  pre- 
vent his  retirement  for  secret  prayer.  They  who  pray,  may  lie 
called  Christians,  or  disciples  of  Jesus;  but  they,  who  do  not  statedly 
witlidraw  from  the  business  and  noise  of  the  world,  and  prostrate 
themselves  before  the  God  of  their  life,  and  the  preserver  of  men, 
are  whatever  they  may  imagine,  ungodly  infidels,  without  any  claim 
to  Ciirist,  or  to  the  benefits  of  his  salvation. 

J  The  opinions  which  the  Jews  held  concerning  their  Messiah, 
weie  as  indefinite  as  they  are  at  present,  among  his  professed  fol- 
lowers. Of  these  opinions  we  have  elaborate  and  learned  dis- 
courses, by  Lightfoot,  Kuinoel,  Smith  and  Blomfield.  The  foUow- 
in;;;;  brief  summar\  exhibits  the  principles  in  which  many  of  the  an-' 
€ieDt  Jews  and  modern  Christians  unite. 


192  Peter's  confession. 

answered:  Some  say.  John  the  Baptist;  some,  Flijah; 
others,  that  Jeremiah,  or  one  of  the  ancient  prop'iets, 
has  risen  again  But  he  said  to  them:  Whom  sav  ye 
that  f  am?  Peter  answerf^d:  Thou  art  the  Messiah. 
THE  Son  of  the  God  Jehovah  *     Jesus  said  to  him 

1,  Some  maintained  that  he  should  be  only  a  mere  man,  pn(i<m'e« 
by  God  with  peculiar  powers  To  this  opmion  Jesus  refers  in  the 
question:  Whom  say  men  that  I,  the  son  of  man,  am?  Thj^t  is,  as 
they  believe  me  to  hf  a  man,  what  man  do  they  think  I  am?  To 
this  the  reply  is  appropriate.  Some  of  the  Jews  believing  the  Py- 
thagorean Metempsyc!  osis,  supposed  him  to  be  Elijah,  or  the  Bap- 
tist, or  Jeremiah.  And  to  the  belief  thai  the  Messiah  should  be 
eminently  distinguished  by  divine  gifts  and  miraculous  powers,  Je- 
sus alludes,  Luke  4.  18,  and  Matt.  12   28. 

2.  Others  mainfained  that  the  Messiah  should  be  superior  to  the 
Fathers,  to  all  mankind,  and  also  to  the  Angels;  that  he  existed  be- 
fore the  creation  of  the  world,  and  was  employed  by  God  as  an  in- 
strument in  the  formation  of  the  world;  and  that  he  had  been  the 
medium  of  all  that  intercourse  which  the  deity  has  maintained  with 
man  since  the  formation  of  the  world;  especially,  that  he  delivered 
Israel  from  Egypt,  led  them  through  the  wilderness,  gave  t  e  law  to 
Moses,  and  has  been  constantly  engaged  in  the  support  and  protec- 
tion of  the  religious  institutions  of  Israel.  To  this  view  of  the  Mes- 
siah, Jesus  refers,  John  3.  13,  and  6.  33,  S8,  62,  and  17.  5,  and  on 
this  opinion  is  evidently  founded  the  reasonmg  of  the  Apostle.  Heb. 
1,  3,  4,  5,  6.  Compare  also  Col.  1.  15-17;  Philip.  2.  6-8;  Gal.  4. 
4;  2  Cor.  8.  9;   Rom.  1.  3.  4;  and  9.  5;   Rev.  1.  17  and  3.  14. 

3  That  the  object  of  his  mission  s'  ould  be  to  establish  a  pure 
and  perfect  form  of  worship,  John  4  25.  Luke  1.  73.  to  oflfer  an  ex- 
piatory sacrifice  for  sin,  Isaiah  53  5.  10  John.  1.29;  to  give  re- 
mission, Luke  1.  76,  Act"  13.  38;  to  deliver  his  people  tr»m  sor- 
row and  suffering,  and  introduce  them  into  eternal  and  abiding  fieli- 
city,  Luke  1    «8,  and  24.  21,  and  John  12.  34. 

The  first  of  these  views  has  been  common  to  such  deistical  Jews 
and  Christians,  as  neither  see  nor  feel  the  spirit  and  power  of  divine 
truth.  The  second  and  third  combmed,  enter  into  all  the  creeds  of 
spiritually  minded  Chi istians  of  every  denomination;  and  no  creed 
that  does  not  recogniee  these,  can  consistently  profess  relationship 
to  the  holy  scriptures,  or  thechurcli  of  the  living  God. 

*  1  have  given  this  phra«e  its  proper  Hebrew  form;  the  words 
Christ  and  living,  being  only  translations  of  Messiah  and  Jehovah. 
This  confession  of  Peter,  whether  made  tor  himself  or  in  the  name 
of  the  twelve,  is  probably  the  niost  concise  and  comprehensive,  and 
perfect  Christian  creed,  that  ever  was  published  in  one  sentence. 


PETER  S  CONFESSION.  193 

Blessed  art  thou,  Simon,  son   of  Jonah;  for  flesh  and 
blood  *  have  not  revealed  this  to  thee,  but  my  Father 


It  is  capable  of  being  analysed  into  the  following;  articles:  1.  Ther^ 
exists  a  (lod.  2,  He  is  one  only  being.  3.  This  God  is  Jphovah.  the 
self  existent  and  eternol  fountain  of  being  and  life,  and  thns  dis^^tin- 
guished  from  all  false  deities.  4.  That  Jesus  is  the  tiue  Messinh, 
the  subject  of  the  prophecies,  and  therefore,  the  prophet,  priest, 
and  kingot  God's  Church.  5.  Jesus  the  Messiah  is  not  merely  a 
man,  but  the  Son  ol  God.  which  implies  that  God  wns  the  proper 
Fiither  of  Jesus;  the  phrase  not  being  understood  af'  descriptive  of 
office,  but  of  dprivation  and  descent,  according  to  its  general  accept- 
ation among  mankind  in  those  days.  6.  Jesus  is  the  Son  ol  'he 
livirig  God,  being  like  his  Father,  t'  e  source  of  hfe  to  men  This 
coniession  thus  analysed,  is  whath«s  been  universally  acknowledg- 
ed by  the  Church  of  Go(l  in  every  age  and  country  since  the  days  of 
Peter,  and  ought  not  to  be  set  aside  in  the  admission,  or  in  the  re- 
tension  of  a  single  member;  for  practical  religion  will  never  be 
found  where  the  pre  existence  of  Jesus,  or  his  sacrificial  death,  is 
denied. 

*  This  peculiar  expression  of  approbation,  unfolfis  the  divine 
autliority  of  two  important  doctrines.  1.  The  doctrine  of  divine 
influence  and  guidance.  Peter  learned  not  th.  subje.  i  o  i-  con- 
fession irovTiJiesh  aiid blood,  a  Jewish  periphrasis  for  man.  Gai.  1. 
1,  12;  but  from  Christ's  Father  in  the  highest  heaven  A  belief  of 
this  doctrine  gives  rationality  and  import. slice  to  the  apostolical  ad- 
vice: If  (o^y  man  lock  wisdom  let  him  ask  of  God.  2  The  doc- 
trine <f  the  d.v-ne  Sonsh>p  of  Jesus,  implied  in  the  phrase:  The 
Son  of  the  Goa  Jehovah.  Had  Jesus  considered  the  phrase  as 
merely  implymg  Peter's  belief  in  him,  as  the  promised  "Vlessiah, 
there  could  have  been  no  reason  for  any  peculiar  expression  of  ap- 
probation at  this  time,  more  than  on  other  occasions,  when  the  disci- 
ples declared  t  eir  belief,  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  See  John  1. 
41  45.  and  6  69;  iMatt,  14.33.  It  appears,  therefore,  thtt  tbe 
common  reading  of  John  6  6.K  is  not  correct,  and  thit  Matthew 
uses  the  phrase,  T/e  Son  of  the  God.  with  the  articles,  only  here, 
and  in  chap.  26.  63,  wtifre  il  w.<s  rlfjrly  unHfr«tood.  by  the  High 
Priest,  not  to  mean  simply  a  description  of  the  office,  but  of  the  na- 
ture and  origin  af  the  Messiah,  and  was  accorcnnyjly  pronounced 
blasphemy.  I  hnve  ollen  thought  of  the  saying  of  John,  tirst  Epis- 
tle 4.  15:  If  any  man  confess  that  Jesus  is  The  Son  of  the  God,  God 
dwells  in  him,  and  he  in  God.  This  seems  to  be  the  exclusive  char- 
acter of  true  believers,  to  which  contession,  the  power  of  religion 
is  confioed. 


194  Peter's  confession. 

who  inhabits  the  highest  Heaven.     And  truly  T  say  unto 
thee,  thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  same  rock*   1  will  buiid 

*  What  the  word  rock  implies  in  this  place,  has  given  orcasion 
for  much  conjecture,  criticism,  and  controversy.  There  are  three 
principal  opinions.  1.  That  the  word  is  put  metap'ioricaliy,  for 
the  doctrine  contained  in  Peter's  confession.  2  That  it  denotes 
Christ  himself.  3.  That  it  is  merely  a  translation  of  the  Syri.^c 
Cephas,  a  name  given  to  Peter  by  our  Lord,  and  signifying  a  stone; 
and  consequently,  the  word  rock  and  Peter  imjtiy  the  same  person. 

1.  That  the  word  rock  implies  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  con- 
fession of  Peter.  How  early  this  opinion  arose,  I  am  unable  to 
say,  but  I  find  it  common  to  both  the  Greek  and  Litin  churches 
in  the  fourth  century.  Thus  Hilary  L.  2.  de  Trin.  Petra  est  Jilei 
confessio.  But  Chrysostom,  on  this  subject,  says,  rn  'Tmfo,  —m-ho-n 
rn  TiTTH  rrig  opXoyta?  On  thts  rock — that  is,  on  the  faith  of  his  con- 
fession. Of  this  opinion,  we  find  Beza,  Lightfoot,  and  many  others, 
among  the  modern  interpreters. 

2  The  second  opinion  is,  that  Jesus  transfers  the  discourse  from 
Peter  to  himself,  and  consequently  the  word  rock  means  Christ,  who 
is  so  frequently  called  a  rock,  and  corner-stone,  and  found. ition,  in 
the  apostolical  writings  See  Acts  4  ll;  1  Cor  3  11.12;  and  10, 
4;  Eph.  2.  20;  J  Peter  2.  4.  See  also  Isaiah  28.  IG,  and  Ps.^lna 
118.  22.  It  is  alleged  that  there  is  an  inequality  in  the  terms  Pe- 
iros  and  Petra,  which  is  incompatible  with  their  application  to  t  le 
same  subject.  Petros  signifies  a  stone,  or  a  piece  of  a  rock,  but 
Petra  signifies  a  real  rock,  whose  proportionate  superiority  to  a 
single  stone  or  small  piece,  denotes  a  similar  inequality  of  dignity 
betvveen  our  Lord  and  his  apostle. 

3  The  third  opinion  is,  that  both  the  words  Petros  and  Petra, 
are  here  used  as  appellatives  of  the  apostle,  and  consequently,  Pe- 
ter was  tiiat  rock  on  which  Christ  said  his  Church  should  be  built. 
To  this  the  connection  and  scope  of  the  passage  agree.  There 
seems  to  be  something  forced  in  every  other  construction,  and  an 
inaptitude  in  the  language  and  figure  of  the  text,  in  every  attempt 
to  construe  the  words  otherwise.  Protestants  have  betrayed  un- 
necessary fears,  and  have,  therefore,  used  all  the  hardihood  of  law- 
less criticism,  in  their  attempts  to  reason  away  the  Catholic  inter- 
pretation. But  we  are  unable  to  see  what  either  party  can  gain  by 
the  contest.  It  is  granted  that  there  seems  something  unusual  in 
the  application  of  a  feminine  noun  Petra,  to  a  masculine  subject 
Petros,  but  there  is  something  more  strange  in  our  Lord's  saying, 
that  the  apostle  was  well  named  Peter,  a  stone,  unless  he  intended 
the  word  rock  to  mean  the  same  being:  and  ihe  words  immediately 
following:  "I  will  give  thee  the  keys,''  plainly  show  that  the  whole 
sentence  is  addressed  to  Peter.  It  is  not  strange,  seeing  the  Jews 
were  accustomed  to  call  the  Levites,  stones  of  the  Temple^  that 


pfter's  confession.  196 

my  rhurrh,*  ao:ainst  which  the  gates  of  Hell  f  shall  not 
prfvuil      And   [   will  give   to  thee,   the   keys  |  of  the 

he  s  oultl  call  Peter  a  foun'lation  in  his  Church.  The  apostles 
are  so  denomin;iteH,  Ep'  .  2.  20,  Kev.  21.  14.  But  what  is  especially 
ine;int  bv  the  address  of  Christ  to  Peter  is,  that  next  to  Jesus,  the 
chief  corner  stone  of  the  Church,  Peter  should  be  the  most  eminent 
and  distinguished  stone  or  foundation.  Hence  he  was  the  first  after 
the  resurrertion  of  Christ  who  received  the  commission  to  feed 
the  la'iibs  and  sheep  of  a  spiritual  flock.  John  21.  15,  16.  Like 
hi-  master,  he  was  the  minister  of  the  circumcision,  Gal  2.  8;  and 
opened,  in  a  pre-eminent  manner,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  Acts  2.  14 — 42,  and  10.  9 — 44.  Thus  Peter 
was  m  tact,  next  to  Jesus,  the  tbundation  of  the  C  lurch. 

*  The  word  Church  is  here  used  in  its  most  extensive  significa- 
tion, and  (IfMiotes  the  aggregate  of  all  sincere  professors  of  Chris- 
tianity throughout  the  world,  in  every  age,  and  of  every  sect.  A 
particular  Church  has  been  very  well  defined  to  be  a  ''con- 
gregation of  faithful  person^,  among  whom  the  pure  word  of 
God  IS  preached,  and  the  sacraments  duly  administered  according 
to  Thrist's  ordinance.''  Wherever,  therefore,  the  true  gospel  of 
Christ  is  preached,  and  his  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  the  Eucha- 
rist are  duly  arlministered  and  received,  there  is  a  Church  of 
Christ,  hut  a  defect  in  any  of  these  essential  requisites,  disqualifies 
the  assembly  for  the  sacred  title  of  Church.  Hence  the  necessity 
©f  admitting  into  the  Church  only  those  who  make  an  humble  and 
sine  re  profession  of  their  faith  and  hope,  and  the  exclusion  of 
thosf  who  do  not  continue  to  evince  that  faith  and  hope,  by  a  walk 
and  conversation  becoming  the  gospel. 

t  As  the  word  Hades  is  here  put  in  the  sense  of  hostile  opposi- 
tion to  the  Church  of  Christ,  I  have  rendered  it  by  the  term  Hell, 
which  word,  when  u«ed  in  an  evil  sense,  always  implies  either  the 
plnce  or  state  of  the  damned. 

By  TwXai  A^s  one  class  of  critics  understand  simply  death  or  de- 
stntcfion,  soihit  the  meaning  will  be.  The  Christian  Church  shall 
never  be  destroyed:  whdst  others  contend,  that  7rwX«i  refers  to  the 
Oriental  custom  of  meeting  and  deliberating  at  the  gates  of  palaces 
and  cities;  of  which  usage  there  are  several  vestiges  both  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  in  the  writings  of  modern  travellers;  and  the  name 
of  Ottoman  Porte  is  deduced  from  this  practice.  According  to  this 
acceptation  the  meaning  will  be,  that  the  power  and  machinations  of 
Hell  itself  shall  not  be  able  to  subvert  the  Church  of  Christ.  This 
latter  opinion  is  plausible,  and  it  is  espoused  by  Casaubon  Exercitt, 
p.  356   and  also  by  Mtchuelis  ad  loc. 

I  The  keys  of  the  kingdom,  signify  the  government  of  the  Church. 
The  delivery  ot  the  keys  was  a  symbole  of  authority  and  power, 


196  Peter's  confession. 

kinp:dom  of  the  highest  Heaven;  and  whatsoever  thou 
shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  the  highest  Hea- 
ven; and  whatsoever  thou  shall  loose  on  earth,  shall  be 
loosed  in  the  highest  Heaven.  Then  he  strictly  charged 
his  disciples  not  to  say  to  any  man:  This  is  the  Messiah. 

being  placed  in  him  to  whono  they  were  given.  Isaiah  23.  22,  and 
Rev  3.  7.  The  inauguration  of  the  Rabbis  or  Doctors  among  the 
JewB,  was  performed  according  t©  their  ancient  institutions,  by  the 
delivery  of  keys.  These  keys  denoted  t  e  power  and  authority  to 
open  and  explain  the  scriptures  Matt.  23.  i3.  and  Luke  II  52; 
to  declare  what  was  right  to  be  believed  and  done,  and  wr  at  should 
be  rejected;  to  admit  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church,  or  exclude 
from  its  fellowship,  such  persons  as  tie  oracles  o)  divine  truth 
pronounced  tit  to  be  received  or  excluded;  to  pronounce  the  re*- 
mission  of  sin  to  the  sincerely  penitent,  and  to  declare  to  unbeliev*- 
ers  and  impenitent  persons,  that  they  have  no  part  in  the  forgive- 
ness ol  sins,  nor  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  all  this, 
Jesus  has  promised,  that  whatever  they  .shall  thus  bind  or  loose,  ac- 
quit or  condemn,  according  to  the  laws  of  his  kingdom,  shall  be  es- 
tablished and  ratified  in  the  Court  oi  Heaven.   - 


SECTION   FIFTY  FOURTH. 

Jesus  foretells  his  Sufferings. 

From  this  time,  Jesus  began  to  inform  his  disciples, 
that  he  must  go  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  be  rejected  by 
the  Elders;*  and  after  suffering  much  from  them,  and 

*  Elders  among  the  Hebrews,  were  magistrates,  heads  or  rulers 
of  the  people;  the  word  Deing  rather  a  term  of  office,  than  a  name 
of  age.  Ex.  3.  16,  Ez.  10.  7.  8,  Deut  !i7,  1,  ami  Num  11.  16. 
The  Supreme  court  of  the  Jewish  nation,  was  called  Sahhedkin, 
and  consisted  ot  seventy  or  seventy-two  members,  under  the  pres- 
idency of  the  High  Priest,  i  he  seventy  members  consisted  of 
three  classes.  1  The  Chief  Priests.  These  wer»  iither  such  as 
had  executed  the  Pontificate,  or  the  chiefs  of  the  twenty-four 
courses  of  Priests.  2  The  Elders^  who  were  princes  of  tribes. 
3  The  Scribes,  who  were  men  learned  in  the  law.  All  the  Scribes 
and  Elders  were  not  members  of  the  Sanhedrin,  but  only  such  as 
were  elected  or  nominated  to  that  office. 


JESUS  FORETELLS  HIS  SUFFERINGS.  197 

the  chief  priests  and  Scribes,  he  should  be  killed;  and 
after  three  days,  he  would  be  raised  ajjain.  Having  said 
this  openly,  Peter  took  him  aside,  and  began  to  reprove 
him  saying:  God  forbid.  Master,  this  shall  not  befall 
thee.  But  he  turning,  said  to  Peter:  Get  thee  behind 
me,  adversary,  thou  art  a  snare*  to  me,  for  thou  desirest 
not  the  thin<rs  of  God,  but  the  things  of  men. 

Ttien  calling  to  him  the  multitude  and  his  disciples 
also,  he  said  to  them:  If  any  man  desire  to  become  my 
disciple,  let  him  renounce  himself,  and  take  up  his  crossf 
and  follow  me.  For  whosoever  is  desirous  of  saving  his 
life,  shall  lose  it,  but  whosoever  is  willing  to  lose  his  life 
for  the   sake  of  me  and  the  gospel,  shall   preserve  it. 

*  The  word  o-xavWov,  implies  any  thing  placed  in  the  wav.  to 
prevent  the  prog;ress  of  another.  Thus  when  the  Jews  heard  of  the 
approach  of  the  Assyrians,  they  fortified  the  hills  and  villages, 
aid  placed  impediments  or  scandals,  in  t'^e  Champaign  country, 
Judith  5.  1 ;  That  is  they  put  down  sharp  po;nted  posts  into  the 
ground,  which  caused  the  man  or  horse  who  might  tread  thereon, 
to  stumble.  Hence  the  same  term  is  translated  stumhlin^-b/ock. 
Peter  would  have  been  a  skandalon  or  stumbling-block  tt»  his 
Master,  had  he  succeeded  to  persuade  him  not  to  go  up  to  Jerusa- 
leiii,  nor  submit  to  the  suff'erirgs,  which  Jesus  had  just  predicted. 
Peter  Wits  yet  full  of  the  Jewish  notion  of  a  Political  Messiah, 
and  temporal  kingdom;  but  Jesus  came  fur  more  spiritual  and 
exalted  purposes,  than  to  set  up  an  earthly  kingdou);  and  there- 
fore he  considered  every  person  an  adversary,  wh  »  would  distract 
him  trom  his  duty;  and  every  thing  or  person,  a  snare  or  scandal, 
that  would  in»pe(fe  his  course.  O  that  every  Chris'ian  could  man- 
ifest the  firmness  of  his  Master,  by  saying  to  every  obstacle,  even 
the  most  dear  and  enticing  relative  or  charm,  that  would  obstruct 
the  couise  or  progress  of  duty:  Get  thee  behind  me  Satan. 

t  He  must  b'  reaiy  for  the  most  severe  death  if  duty  requtre.  Tt 
was  the  custom  anciently,  (or  the  malefactor  to  carry  the  cross,  on 
which  he  was  condemned  to  suffer,  to  the  place  of  execution.  So 
it  "."-as  with  our  Lord,  till  he  became  unable  to  bear  it;  and  Simon 
a  Cyienean  was  compelled  to  bear  it  for  him,  John  19.  17,  Mark 
15.  21.  He  that  w.  uld  be  the  true  and  acknowledged  follower  of 
Jesus,  nmst  be  prepared  to  suffer  avy  evil  voluntarily,  if  it  cannot 
be  av»»ide.i  coiisi..reiitly  with  a  pure  conscience,  and  strict  obedi- 
ence to  the  rec|ui6ition»  of  the  gospel. 

^6 


198  JESUS  FORETELLS  HTR  SUFFERrNGS. 

What  is  a  man  profiled  if  in  graining;  the  whole  world,  he 
destroy*  himself,  or  forfeit  his  life?  Or  what  would  a 
man  not  g:ive  as  a  ransom  for  his  life?  For  whosoever 
shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words  in  this  adnlter- 
ons  and  sinful  oreneration,  of  him  will  the  Son  of  man 
also  be  ashamedf  when  he  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his 
Father,  accompanied  by  the  holy  angels,  to  recompense! 

*This  passasTP  bears  unequivocal  testimony  to  two  important 
and  often  disputed  doctrines:  The  complete  mortality  of  man;  and 
that  immortafity  is  entirely  ihpenlent  on  Christian  Jiilel'y.  ^\\t 
sin  here  denounced,  is  inordinate  love  of  life.  The  blessing  pro- 
mised is  continuance  of  life.  The  same  word  here  'ranslated 
life,  is  that  which  is  o-eneral  rendered  oul,  in  the  common  trans- 
lation. But  if  he  that  seeks  to  preserve  his  soul,  will  lose  it.  that 
sow/ cannot  be  immortal.  The  languase  of  our  I-iord  i>  here  of  the 
same  import,  as  it  is.  where  he  tells  the  <lisciples  to  fear  him  that 
can  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  Hell  He  therefore  who  pre- 
fers the  life,  which  e  now  has,  to  the  spiritual  life  Jesus  came  t« 
bestow,  will  suffer  the  pangs  of  the  second  death,  which  will  issue 
in  cessation  of  personal  existence. 

t  In  this  and  many  otl;e:  passa  es  of  scripture,  the  profession  of 
the  Christian  religion  is  expressly  required  of  all  that  believe  it; 
because  this  is  the  great  means  of  preserving  it  in  the  world. 
Those  who  are  so  far  ashamed  of  the  re'igion  of  Jesus,  as  not  to 
make  and  maintain  a  public  profession  of  Christ's  religion,  may 
rely  on  the  truth  of  God,  that  they  shull  never  enjoy  the  salvation 
of  Jesus  whatever  may  be  their  belief.  Surely  this  awful  warning 
ought  to  be  strongly  int'orced  in  this  age,  when  so  many  persons 
of  eminence  in  literature  and  science  are  sceptics  and  unbeliev- 
ers and  c<!nsf'qu<^ntly  become  a  temptation  to  weak  Christians 
to  be  ashamed  of  Christ  and  liis  religion. 

I  They  who  would  persuade  us  to  believe,  that  this  coming  of 
the  Son  I'f  man  to  recompense  everv  man  according  to  his  works, 
took  place  at  the  de-truction  of  Jerusahm,  ought  not  to  be  heardj 
for  tlj,'i  are  such  as  darken  counsel  by  words  without  knowledge. 
"Wh:',  but  either  a  deceiver  or  a  deceived  person,  could  be  S"  stu- 
pitieii  or  foolish,, as  to  pretend  'hat  'he  calamities  which  befell  a 
fiv  J:ws,  was  the  completion  ofGou^s  retributions,  toivards  the  in- 
numerable millions  of  Adam's  race,  which  have  lived,  or  may  yet 
live,  in  a  hundred  different  nations  and  ages  of  the  world.  The 
false  and  glaringly  absurd  doctrine,  that  every  person  is  continu- 
ally, or  daily  rewar  ied  according  to  his  works,  is  alike  repugnant 
to  all  scripture  and  exp  rieiice;  and  is  refuted  by  every  public 
calamity,  as  well  as  every  judicial  process  against  crime. 


JESUS  FORETELLS  HIS  SUFFERINGS.  199 

every  man  according  to  his  works.  Then  he  said:  Truly 
I  fissuro  you:  Some  of  those,  who  are  present,  shall  not 
die  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  depart*  into  glory,  and 
the  reign  of  God  ushered  in  with  power. 

When  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  many  thousands  suffred.  who 
were  not  born,  when  the  Jews  put  Jesus  to  death;  and  no  doubt, 
as  many  thousands  of  gu  Ity  sinners  had  died  iu  Jerusalem,  during 
the  forty  years  which  elapsed  between  the  crucifixion  of  Christ 
and  the  overthrow  of  the  Jewish  nation.  We  may  view  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  'ews  at  that  period,  as  a  punishment  for  national 
«in.  but  it  is  utterly  beneath  the  character  of  a  rational  being  to 
imagine,  that  any  thine  like  individual  recompense,  according  to 
Works,  was  at  this  time  administered  by  Christ. 

*  Raphelius  interpret-  this  passage  of  Christ's  ascension  into 
Heaven,  when  he  took  possession  of  the  mediatorial  kingdom  and 
glory  and  which  was  a  sure  pledge,  that  he  would  come  again  to 
judge  the  world.  The  Geek  word,  t^x°H-^-'-^  signifies  motion,  but 
does  .lot  imply  either  coining  or  going  exclusively.  Whether  the 
motion,  or  movement,  be  to,  or  from  a  place,  must  be  inferred 
from  the  context  It  is  therefore  as  correct  to  translate  the  phrase 
depart  in  glory,  or  go  into  glory,  as  come  in  glory.  This  is  mani- 
festly the  sense  and  proper  translation  of  Luke  23.  42.  When 
thov  g  est  into  thy  k  ngdom.  See  also  John  5.  4.  Jesus  went  in- 
to his  glory  or  kingdom,  when  he  ascended,  and  the  kingdom  or 
reign  of  God,  was  ushered  in  with  power  at  the  Pentecost,  which 
soon  followed  his  ascension. 


SECTIOxX   FIFTY  FIFTH. 

Christ's  Transfiguration. 

Now  after  six  days,  being  on  the  eighth  day*  after 
this  tliscourse,  Jesus  took  Peter,  James  and  John  his 

*  Matthew  and  Mark,  reckoning  the  entire  days  between  the 
day  on  which  Christ  foreiold  his  sufferings  and  death,  and  that  on 
which  he  ascended  the  mount,  call  them  six;  but  Luke  including 
the  days  oi  both  transactions,  makes  them  eight.  The  Clironicon 
of  I  irinus  makes  the  day  of  the  transfiguration  to  have  been  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  and  sixth  day  of  ihe  month  August.  This 
agrees  with  the  Chronology,  which  we  have  adopted. 


200  Christ's  transfiguration. 

brother,  and  went  to  an  high  mountain*  apart,  to  pray. 
And  whilst  he  prayed,  the  appearance  of  his  counte- 
nance was  chang;ed,  and    he  was  metamorphosedf   in 

*  The  most  seneral  opinion  is  that  the  transfiguration  happened 
on  Taber,  a  high  mountain  in  the  southern  part  of  Galilee,  OB 
which  Jerome  says,  the  Christians  have  built  three  churches  in- 
stead of  the  three  tabernacles,  which  Peter  proposed  to  erect. 
But  from  Mark  9.  29,  it  appears  that  Jesus  passed  throu  h  Gali- 
lee, goinjE  from  the  mount  to  Capernaum,  and  that  the  journej 
was  in  a  southern  direction  from  the  n  ighbourhood  of  Cesarea 
Philippi,  Matt.  16.  13.  Now  this  is  opposed  to  the  opinion  that 
Taber  is  meant.  Mount  Lebanus,  or  Lebanon,  which  stands 
near  the  town  of  Cesarea,  was  therefore,  very  probably  the  scene 
of  th-it  glorious  event.  Thus  Isaiah  prophesied,  that  Lebanon 
should  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  Is.  36.  2.  Moreover  Jerome 
says,  Libanus  is  the  highest  mountain  in  Palestine. 

t  This  metamorphosis  or  transfiguration,  was  not  a  change  of 
the  figure,  but  of  the  appearance  of  Christ's  body.  EutHvmius, 
Cajetan,  and  others  say:  The  change  in  the  appearance  of  Chri^jt's 
person,  was  occasioned  by  the  manifestation  of  his  celestial  na- 
tr.re,  through  the  humanity,  which  gave  a  luminous  glory  to  the 
eaithly  bt^dy,  and  even  the  raiment  of  Jesus.  It  is  very  prob.ible 
that  Jesus  now  assumed  the  Shechinah,  which  led  the  Israelites 
through  the  wilderness,  and  is  beautifully  described  by  Habakkuk, 
third  chapter  Bishop  Porteus  supposes  this  glorious  appearance, 
to  be  the  accomplishment  of  what  Christ  had  predicted,  when  he 
said  that  some  of  those  who  stood  by  him,  should  not  taste  death, 
till  tiiey  should  see  the  Son  of  man  come  in  his  glory.  See  the 
maji^siic  description  of  Christ's  glorious  person  by  John,  Rev.  1. 
13—16. 

Having  prepared  the  minds  of  his  disciples  for  his  approaching 
sufferings  and  death,  our  Lord,  for  the  greater  confirmation  of 
their  faith  in  all  the  predicted  trials  that  awaited  them,  deter- 
noii  es  to  manifest  himself  to  them  in  his  glorified  state;  in  that 
state,  we  may  believe,  in  which  He  was  before  the  world  began, 
in  which  he  is  at  present,  in  which  also  He  will  appear  to  an  as- 
sembled world.  He  sets  before  them,  as  his  custom  was,  by  a 
significant  action,  a  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
told  them,  that  s  me  of  them  should  see  their  king  in  his  glory. 
The  transfiguration  of  Christ,  like  his  resurrection  and  ascension, 
appears  as  it  were  to  draw  back  for  a  moment  the  veil  from  the 
invisible  world.  The  impenetrable  barrier  is  passed^  a  light 
seems  to  dart  from  heaven  to  disperse  the  thick  clouds  that  hang 
over  the  valley  ot  the  shadow  of  death,  and  we  are  admitted  into 
the  presence  of  the  Judge  of  the  world,  and  see  with  the  eye  of 


©HI^TSt's  TRANSPIGURATIOPr.  20\ 

thpir  pt^«?pr)ce.  And  his  face  shone  like  the  sun,  pnd 
his  raiment  assumed  a  dazzlino;  whi*e  like  snow,  which 
no  tuller  on  earth  could  imitate.  And  behold  two  men,* 

faith,  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  before  we  are  c  tiled 
upon  to  rv'sijjn  this  corruptible  body  to  the  shroud  and  to  the  tomb. 
\^  here  the  spirits  of  the  departed  exist,  what  their  condition,  or 
wh.it  tlieir  laws  of  consciousness,  or  means '>f  happiness,  man  must 
die  before  he  can  ascertain.  But  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
invisible  world  is  so  mysteriously  connected  with  this  visible  di- 
urnal sphere,  that  the  cessation  of  our  consciousness  as  to  present 
things,  is  but  the  commencement  of  our  C'>n?ciousness  of  all  those 
u;, known  realties  of  the  other  world.  Who  can  say,  that  we  are 
not  at  this  moment  surrounded — that  we  are  not  at  every  penod 
of  our  lives  encompassed  with  a  cloud  of  angelic  spirits,  the  anxious 
witnesses  of  our  thou:ihts  and  actions: 

"Millions  of  spiritual  creators  walk  the  earth 
Unseen,  both  when  we  wake,  and  when  we  sleep." 

*Theseare  called  men.  as  if  the  sacred  writers  would  guard  us 
against  the  false  notions  of  some,  that  they  were  angels  or  aerial 
phantoms.  Many  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  spirits  of  men 
are  some  indescribable  things  or  nothings,  between  death  and  tiie 
future  general  resurrection;  but  all  antiquity  believed  in  a  corpo- 
real form  and  existence  obtained  in)mediately  after  death,  which 
Pau!,  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  his  second  epistle  to  the  Coiinthians, 
exjressly  afRrms  to  be  his  own  faith  and  hope.  The  appearance 
of  Moses  and  h,lias  confirms  the  doctrine  of  an  intermediate  state 
and  refutes  the  fable  of  soul -sleepers.  But  if  it  be  inquired: 
How  could  John,  Peter,  and  James  know,  that  these  men  were 
Moses  and  Elijah?  \A  e  answer  it  is  very  probable,  that  on  this 
singular  <  xcasion,  they  appeared  in  the  ancient  attire  if  their  of- 
fice, according  to  the  description  given  by  the  sacred  writers,  Ex. 
34.  29—35  and  2  Kings  1.8,  and  2.  11,  13.  Yea  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  each,  might  be  manifested  as  Mo^es  bearing  the 
emblems  of  the  two  tables,  and  Elijah  in  a  chariot  of  fire.  They 
iriight  alh(^  be  easily  known  from  likenesses  of  these  distinguished 
persons,  preset  ved  by  the  Jewish  nation.  But  most  probably 
they  were  known  to  the  apostles  by  their  conversation.  If  it  be 
asked  again:  Why  should  these  two  appear  rather  than  any 
other?  Weanswei:  Moses  was  the  founder  and  legislator  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  he  now  appears  to  attest,  that  this  same  Jesus 
was  that  Prophet  to  whom  he  referred,  when  he  told  Isr  el  A 
prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  to  you  like  to  nie,  Deut. 
18  15;  1o  lay  the  tables  of  the  law  at  the  feet  of  the  IVJessiah,  to 
be  levised.  cinijirmed,  or  abrogated,  as  this  King  of  Israel  might 
think  best  adapted  to  the  nature  of  his  kingdom,  and  welfare  of 


202  Christ's  transfiguration. 

of  a  8:lorious  aspect,  appeared  to  them,  who  were  Moses 
and  Elijah,  and  they  conversed  with  Jf^sus  concerning 
the  departure,  which  he  was  about  to  acompli^h*  at  Je- 
rusalem. Now  Peter  and  those  that  were  with  him.  had 
been  overcome  by  sleep,  but  waking  they  saw  his  gl'»ry 
and  the  two  men  who  were  standing;  with  him.  And  when 
they  were  about  to  depart  from  him.  Peter  said  to  Jesus, 
Master,  it  is  good  for  us  to  stay  heref  and  if  it  please 

his  subjects  Elijah  is  also  present  as  the  chief  of  the  Prophets,  to 
bear  witness,  that  the  spirit  of  the  Prophets  was  the  testimonv  of 
Christ.  The  presence  of  these  distinguished  personages,  showed 
that  the  law  and  the  prophets  were  fulfilled  in  Jesus. 

*  The  grand  topic  of  discourse,  in  this  celestial  assembly,  was 
the  death  of  (  hrist.  They  talked  with  Je-^us  about  his  <lecease  or 
departure,  which  he  was  about  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem  If 
Paul  had  a  correct  view  of  the  connection  between  tlie  'viosdic  and 
Christian  dispensations,  we  are  assured  by  him  that  the  rites  of 
the  former  were  types  or  representations  of  the  substances  con- 
tained in  the  latter.  Heb.  9  23,  24,  and  10. 1.  No  wonder  then 
th.it  Moses  should  be  interested  in  that  wliich  alone  give*  nem- 
ing  and  significance  to  his  emblematic  institutions.  The  sacrifi-~ 
cial  death  and  atonement  of  Je-us,  is  that  which  alone  opesis  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  411  the  rites  and  sacrifices 
of  the  law  and  predictions  of  the  Prophets  have  meaning,  it  w ;  ad- 
mit the  priestly  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  but  take  awav  tbis  doctrine, 
and  the  spirit,  substance,  life  and  beauty  of  the  Mosaic  aid  Chris- 
tian dispensations  are  destroyed. 

t  It  is  good  to  be  here  or  remain  in  this  place.  Such  was  the 
language  of  Peter,  when  he  saw  Moses  and  Elijah  about  to  h'.we 
the  company  of  his  Master.  It  may  be  proper  briefiy  to  notice 
the  circumsfances  which  led  him  to  this  conclusion  and  what  is  im- 
plied in  the  conclusion  itself.  The  late  discourse  of  our  Lord,  in 
which  he  had  predicted  his  death,  as  about  shortly  to  happen,  lad 
filled  the  minds  of  the  apostles  with  sorrow  and  distrustful  appre- 
hensions, but  this  exhibition  of  his  glory,  rekindled  thrtir  faith, 
ioy,  and  confidence  The  blessed  fellowship,  which  they  had, 
during  their  stay  on  the  mount,  enjoyed  in  the  company  of  so  ex- 
alted and  glorified  spirits,  as  Moses  and  Elijah,  the  first  born  of 
Heaven,  must  have  been  inexpressibly  interesting.  They  had 
now  enjoyed  a  more  clear  and  pertect  vision  of  the  celestial  bless- 
edness, that  awaits  the  faithful,  and  more  complete  evidence  of 
the  r-  ality  and  glory  of  the  immortal  state,  than  ever  had  been  af- 
for  ed  lo  any.  i  he  transparency  of  celestial  and  immntal  bodies, 
had    Deen   generally    believed,   and  the  brilliant  luminaries   of 


Christ's  transfiguration.  203 

thoe,  let  us  make  three  tabernacles  in  this  place,  one  for 
thee,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Flijah.  For  being 
greatly  afraid,  he  knew  not  what  to  say.  Whilst  he 
thus  spake,  a  bright  cloud  came  and  surrounded  them; 
and  a  voice  came  out  of  the  cloud,  saying:  This  is  my 

Heaven,  had  been  considered,  as  emblematic  of  the  shining  b"dieB 
of  the  rischteous,  but  now  they  see  with  their  eyes,  th  •  truth  and 
certainty  of  this  opinion,  in  the  glorious  and  shining  bodies  of 
their  Ma>.ter,  Muses,  and  Elijah;  and  therefore  the  bright  pros- 
pects of  celestial  fe'icity  and  glory,  sicken  their  attachment  to 
the  things  of  time  and  sense. 

Another  circumstance  which  gave  peculiar  interest  to  this  inter- 
view, was  that  the  Elijah  here  mentioned,  was  very  probably  their 
old  Master,  the  Baptist  See  Mai.  4.  5,  Luke  1.  17,  and  Matt. 
11.  14,  and  17.  12.  The  suppo^iticm  that  Johsi  th-^  Baptist  was 
in  reality  the  Elijah  of  the  Old  Testament,  agrees  well  with  the 
history  of  Elijah,  and  what  Jesus  says  of  the  Baptist  Matt.  1 1 .  9 — 
11,  and  is  perfectly  conceivable  by  all  except  those  motlern  Sad- 
ducees  to  whom  the  idea  of  angel,  spirit  or  incarnation,  is  become 
paradoxical  and  offensive.  Here  then  the  evidence  becomes  com- 
plete, and  the  scene  inexpressibly  engaging.  The  Great  VVit- 
nesses  for  God  and  revealed  religion,  during  the  two  mo-t  distin- 
guished dispensations  which  were  ever  given  to  men,  have  here  as- 
sembled together,  and  are  consulting  about  the  vitality  and  sub- 
stance of  all  religion,  the  redemption  of  the  world  by  the  death  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

The  conclusion  itself.  Jesus  and  his  apostles  had  retired  to 
this  mountain  for  p  ayer;  and  whilst  they  prayed,  tht'  appearance 
of  Jesus  was  changed,  the  heavens  open,  and  the  celestial  host 
descend,  to  mix  in  fellowship  iind  exercises  so  divino.  How  often 
have  the  pious  worshippers  of  God,  retired  like  these  ip  tstles  to 
private  places,  with  sorrowful  hearts,  and  after  beholdirg  the  vi- 
sions of  the  Almiijhty,  and  hearing  the  reconciling  voice,  have 
eome  away  rejoicing.  No  wonder  that  the  unbelieving,  cannot 
see  the  advantage  nor  reason  of  prayer.  They  are  a  faithless  race; 
and  wheo  they,  at  any  tim  ■,  come  to  God  in  the  form  or  attitude 
of  prayer,  they  neither  feel  their  need  of  divine  grace,  nor  expect 
to  receive  any  notice  from  God,  on  that  occasion;  and  therefore 
they  are  sent  away  empty  and  ashamed.  It  is  good  for  Christia:is 
to  retire  frequently  fntin  the  world,  to  hold  communion  with  God, 
especially  in  prayer  and  at  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  supper. 
Here  they  are  eiilig  tened  to  behold  their  wants  and  spiritual 
poYerty,  and  feel  humblad;  and  falling  prostrate  at  the  foot  of  the 


204  Christ's  transffguration. 

beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased;  Flearye  him  * 
When  the  disciples  heard,  they  fell  on  their  faces,  and 
were  exceedinjily  afraid.  But  Jesus  coming,  touched 
them,  and  said:  Arise,  be  not  afraid.   Then  they  looked 

throne  of  mercy,  they  are  satisfied  with  good  things.  In  the 
sarred  approach  to  the  communion  table,  they  express  their  faith 
and  hope  in  God,  Christ,  religion,  and  immortality;  and  that  Je^us, 
who  has  said:  He  that  confesses  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess 
before  my  Father  and  the  holy  angels,  reciprocates  the  tokens  of 
reconciliation,  and  the  pledge  of  relationship,  causing  every  sin- 
cere communicant  to  realize  and  experience,  that  he  alone  who 
eats  the  flesh  and  drinks  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  has  eternal 
life  in  him. 

*  I'he  bright  ch  ud,  or  cloud  of  light,  as  some  manuscripts  read, 
was  the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence,  Ex.  16.  10,  and  40.34 — 
38,  Fz.  1.4,  28      It  ceased  at  the  death   of  Moses,  but  was  re- 
storet!  at  this  time  to  evince  that  God  had  re-appeared  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  new  dispensation.     When  God  descended  on 
Sinai,  he  was  shrouded  in  a  thick,  dark  and  gloomy  cloud,  but 
now  he  appears  in  a  cloud  of  light,  indicating  that  the  shadows 
and  types  of  the  former  dispensation  had  passed  away,  receiving 
their  "accomplishment  in  Christ,  and  th  it  the  more  bright  and  be- 
nign dispensation  of  the  gospel  had  commenced.     The  voice  heard 
from   the  cloud,  was  the  second  public  attestation  of  Jehovah  to 
the  divine  so^^hi|)  an  »  celestial  dignity  of  Christ.     The  use  of  the 
aorist  tense,  is  here  of  great  moment,  as  it  denotes  Jesus  is  ever 
the  unchanging  object  of  the  divine  approbation.     Through  the 
disptiisatioM  ot  the  Old   Testament,  Jesus  as  the  reality  and  sub- 
stance of  all  the  sacrifices,  was  the  object  of  the  Father's  compla- 
cency.    If)  the  New  Testament,  there  is  no  other  name  given,  no 
other  living  way  of  access  to  God,  heaven,  and  salvation,  but 
Jesus;  and  throughout  the  duration  of  that  time,  in  which  there 
wiii  be  found  <«ne  unreconciled  soul  in  the  Universe,  Jesus  sitting 
on  the  thn)ne  of  administration,  will  bear  the  keys  of  Hell  and 
death    to  open  a  d  shut  a>*  it  pleases  him;  for  it  has  pleased  the 
Father  that  in  him  all  fulness  should  dwell,  and  that  he  should  sit 
on  the  throne  of  David  forever.  The  commandment:  Hear  ye  him, 
is  tiie  repetition  ot  God's  voice  to  the  nation  of  Israel,  through 
the  prophet  ^.oses,  and  the  public  attestation  that  this  Jesus  was, 
that  same  prophet  concerning  whom  Moses  had  spoken,  Deut.  18, 
15,  18.     Let  ther.  fore  all  Jews,  Heathens,  Deists  and  Deistical 
Christians,  h<ar  and  understand.     He  that   comes  not  to   God 
throujih  an  humble  submission  to  his  Son,  and  faith  in  his  holy  re- 
ligion   and    sacrificial  death,  shall  never  enter  the  paradise   of 
Heaven,  nor  enjoy  the  smiles  of  a  redeeming  God. 


Christ's  transfiguration.  205 

around  them  immediately,  but  they  saw  no  man  with 
them  except  Jesus;  for  whilst  the  voice  was  uttered, 
Jesus  was  found  alone. 

And  as  they  went  down  from  the  mountain  he  charg^ed 
them  not  to  tell  any  man,  what  they  had  seen,  till  after 
the  Son  of  man  shall  have  risen  from  the  dead.  So  they 
kept  silence,  neither  told  any  man,  in  those  days,  any 
thing  which  they  had  seen ;  but  they  took  notice  of  his 
saving:,  and  were  disputing  among  themselves,  what  this 
rising  from  the  dead  could  mean.  But  Jesus  explained 
how  it  was  written  concerning  the  Son  of  man,  that  he 
should  suffer  many  things,  and  be  treated  with  contempt. 

Then  they  asked  him,  saying:  Why  do  the  Scribes 
sav,  that  Elijah  must  first  comei'*  Jesus  answered:  Veri- 
ly Elijah  comes  first  to  restoref  all  things;  but  I  assure 

*  Schoetgen,  Horae  Hebraicae,  vol.  1.  p.  148,  quotes  Dabarim 
Rabbi,  and  Tanch  ima,  to  prove  that  there  were  traditions  amon^ 
the  Jews,  that  Mose^  and  Elijah  should  return  to  the  earth  during 
the  reign  of  the  Messiah.  Trypho  the  Jew,  disputing  with  Justin 
Martyr,  tells  him  that  the  Messiah  shall  have  no  power,  till  Eli- 
jah come  to  anoint  him  and  make  him  known.  To  this  also 
Miimonides  bears  testimony,  saying,  that  some  of  their  wise  men 
say:  Elijah  must  come  before  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  See 
Gill  on  Matt.  17.  10. 

t  Dr.  A.  Clarke  here  observes,  "that  we  are  not  to  understand 
the  version  of  the  Septuagint,  Mai.  4.  5,  6,  here  quoted  by  our 
Loid,  in  anv  other  sense  than  the  Hebrew  will  allow,  which  lite- 
rally translated  says:  He  will  cause  the  hearts  of  the  fathers  to 
turn  to  the  children.  Hence  there  was  no  fanciful  restoration  of 
men,  devils,  and  damned  spirits  begun  or  taught  by  John,  but 
merely  a  doctrine  tending  to  universal  reformation  of  manners." 
Dr.  Campbell's  note  on  the  original  Greek  word  is  worthy  of  at- 
tention, and  is  therefore,  here  inserted. 

"  Ttio  original  use  o(  the  verU  aToxa&io-TWjut  is,  instauro,  redintegro,  I 
begin  anew.  It  is  most  properly  appliefl  to  the  sun  and  planets,  in 
regard  to  which  the  finishinsi  ami  the  recommencing  of  their  course 
is  coincident.  Besides,  their  return  to  the  piace  whence  they  set 
out  does,  as  it  were,  restore  the  face  of  tlmi^^s  to  what  it  was  at  the 
b.jgiiming  of  tlieir  circuit.  Hence  the  word  has  tvyo  meaoin,:s, 
Winch,  on  refl.-ciion,  are  more  nearly  related  than  at  tirst  they  ap- 
pear to  be.     Oue  is  to  restore,  the  other  to   finixh.     In  both  senses 

27 


206  Christ's  transfiguration. 

you,  Elijah  has  already  come  as  was  predicted,  and  they 
knew  him  not,  but  have  done  to  him  as  they  pleased; 
and  in  like  manner  also,  the  Son  of  man  shall  soon  suffer 
by  them.  Then  the  disciples  understood,  that  he  spake 
concerning  John  the  Baptist. 

the  word  whs  applicable  to  the  Baptist,  who  came  as  a  reformer  to 
re-establish  that  integrity  from  which  men  had  departed.  He  came 
also  as  the  last  prophet  of  the  old  dispensation,  to  tinish  that  state  of 
things,  and  usher  in  a  new  one.  When  it  is  followed,  as  in  the  text, 
bj  so  comprehensive  a  word  as  7ra,vr»,  without  any  explanation,  it 
must  h^  understood  in  the  sense  of  finishing.  When  the  meaning  is 
to  restore,  there  never  fails  to  be  some  addition  made,  to  indicate 
the  state  to  which,  or  the  person  to  whom,  the  restoration  is  made. 
See  ch.  xii.  13.  Mr.  iii.  5,  viii  25,  L.  vi.  10,  Acts  i.  6,  Heb.  xiii. 
19.  But  when  the  meaning  is  to  finish,  no  addition  is  requisite.  In 
the  present  instance,  he  shall  restore  all  things,  is,  to  say  the  least, 
a  very  indefinite  expression.  This  remark  must  be  extended  to 
the  verbal  noun  awoxaTarowri?,  which,  when  similarly  circumstanced, 
ought  to  be  rendered  completion,  consummation,  or  accomplishment, 
not  restoration,  re-establishment,  or  restitution.  In  Acts  iii.  21. 
Peter  says,  concerning  our  Lord,  as  it  stands  in  the  common  ver- 
sion, Whom  the  heaven  must  receive,  until  the  times  of  restitution  of 
all  things,  which  God  has  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets, 
since  the  world  began  To  me  it  is  manifest,  that  these  words,  the 
restitution  of  all  things  which  God  has  spoken  by  his  prophets,  con- 
vey no  meaning  at  all.  Substitute  accomplishment  for  restitution, 
and  there  remains  not  a  vestige  either  of  difficulty,  or  of  improprie- 
ty, in  the  sentence.  1  have  chosen  the  verb  to  consummate,  in  the 
present  instance,  as  it  conveys  somewhat  of  both  the  senses  of 
aTToxaGio-Ttijuu  It  denotes,  to  render  perfect,  which  coincides  with  the 
retorrnation  or  restoration  to  integrity,  he  was  sent  to  promote,  and 
also  to  conclude,  or  finish,  the  Mosaic  economy." 


SECTION  FIFTY  SIXTH. 

Cure  of  a  Dumb  Demoniac. 

On  the  next  day,  as  they  came  down  from  the  mount, 
and  were  returning  to  the  other  disciples,  he  saw  a  great 
multitude  abou  them,  and  some  of  the  Scribes  disputing 
with  them.    As  soon  as  the  people  saw  him,  they  were  all 


CURE  OP  A  DUMB  DEMONIAC.  207 

struck  with  awe,*  and  ran  to  salute  him.   And  he  asked 
the  Scribes:  about  what  are  ye  disputin^j;?     But  one  of 
the  people  prostrating  himself,  cried:   Master,  have  com- 
passion on  my  son,  my  only  child,  for  he  is  gjrievou.sly 
tormented  by  lunacy  and  a  dumb  spirit.f     And  where- 

*  The  people  were  greatly  amazed  and  terrified  at  the  glorious 
and  supernatural  appearance  of  our  Lord,  whose  face  yet  shone 
with  rays  of  glory,  like  the  face  of  Moses  when  he  came  down 
from  the  mount,  Ex.  34.  30. 

t  As  some  suppose,  that  what  is  here  said  of  this  man's  disease, 
is  evidence  against  the  doctrine  of  real  possessions,  w(^  shall  here 
introduce  a  brief  abstract  of  the  arguments  in  favour  of  the  doc- 
trine, from  Jahn's  Archaeology,  section  193,  p.  214 — 217. 

"The  expressions  in  the  New  Testament,  and  likewise  in  pro- 
fane authors  of  antiquity,  clearly  imply  that  the  demoniacs  were 
possessed  by  an  evil  spirit." 

I.  They  expressed  themselves  in  a  way,  which  is  not  done  by  epi- 
leptic, melancholy,  or  insane  persons,  as  m  Matt.  8.  23.  Luke  8. 
27.  Mark  5.  7.  They  possessed  the  supernatural  power  of  sun- 
dering all  sorts  of  cords  and  chains.  They  requested  ot  Jesus  not 
to  torment  them.  They  answered  with  propriety,  questions  which 
were  proposed  to  them.  Demons  departed  from  them  and  entered 
into  swine.  Certainly  it  cannot  be  said  in  reference  to  this  last 
particular,  that  madness  or  melancholy,  the  mere  phrenzy  or  wan- 
derings of  the  brain  went  out  of  the  possessed  persons  into  the 
herd.  The  supposition,  which  some  make,  that  the  swine  were 
driven  into  the  sea  by  the  demoniacs,  is  destitute  of  all  probability. 
They  would  have  stood  a  much  better  chance  of  being  driven  in 
many  more  directions  than  one,  by  persons  of  such  an  undiscipliiiad 
and  irrational  character;  especially  as  they  were  two  chousaud  in 
number. 

IL  No  symptoms  of  disease  are  mentioned  in  the  case  of  the  dumb 
demoniac,  introduced  in  Matt.  9.  32,  and  Luke  11.  14.  nor  in  that 
of  the  dumb  and  blind  demoniac,  spoken  of  in  Matt.  12.  22.  Fhe 
possessed  persons,  therefore,  in  both  of  these  instances  were  in  a 
sound  state  of  body  and  health,  with  this  exception  merely,  that 
the  devil,  (for  this  certainly  could  not  have  been  done  by  epilepsy, 
melancholy,  or  madness,)  obstructed  their  organs  of  speech  and 
vision. 

IIL  It  is  admitted,  that  the  circumstances  attending  the  case  of 
the  lunatic,  in  Matthew  17.  15.  are  such,  as  would  be  expected  in 
the  case  of  a  person  afflicted  with  the  epilepsy;  but  then  it  should 
be  particularly  noticed,  that  the  effects  in  this  instance,  as  well  as 
ia  others,  are  attributed  to  the  ageney  of  the  devil. . 


208 


CURE  OP  A  DUMB  DEMONIAC. 


soever  it  seizes  him,  he  suddenly  screams  aloud,  and  it 
dashes  him  on  the  ground,  and  convulbcs  him,  and  he 
continues  foaming  and  grinding  his  teeth,  till  his  strength 
is  exhausted;  and  having  bruised  him,  it  hardly  departs 
from  him.  And  1  brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  and  be- 
sought them  to  expel  the  demon,  but  they  were  not  able. 

IV.  We  are  informed,  that  the  damsel  of  Fhihppi,  Acts.  16.  16, 
practised  divination,  which  evidentl}/  could  not  have  been  done  b)/  a 
mad  or  deranged  person.  We  must  conclude,  theretore,  that  she 
was  under  the  influence  of  an  evil  spirit. 

V.  The  demoniacs  themselves  said,  that  they  were  possessed  with 
a  devil.  The  Jews  of  the  New  Testament,  who  happened  to  be 
concerned  on  account  of  their  relationship  to  the  person,  or  in' any 
other  way,  in  a  case  ot  demoiiiacal  possession,  assert  the  same  thing. 
The  apostles  likewise  and  evangelists  allege,  that  persons  possessed 
With  demons,  were  brought  to  Jesus,  and  that  the  demons  depart- 
ed at  his  command,  Matt.  4.  24,  7.  22,  9.  83,  12.  28.  Mark  1.  32, 
39,  9.  25;  Luke  4.  41,  8.  2,  8(f,  38j  9.  49,  1  1.  14.  Jesus  him- 
self asserts,  that  he  casts  out  devils,  Luke  11.  19,  Matthew  12. 
27,  28. 

V  I.  The  sacred  writers  make  an  express  distinction  between  de- 
moniacs, and  the  sickj  and  likewise  between  the  exorcism  of  de- 
mons, and  the  healing  of  the  sick,  Mark  1.  32,  Luke  6.  17,  18,  7. 
2^,  8.  2,  13.  32.  Demoniacs,  therefore,  were  not  persons  afSicted 
with  diseases,  in  the  way  t^iat  has  been  supposed. 

VII.  Demoniacs  knew,  what  madmen,  insane  persons,  epilep- 
tics,  and  melancholy  men  could  not  of  themselves  know,  viz,  that 
Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  David, 
ETC.  Mark  1.  24,  5.  7,     Matt.  8.  29,     Luke  4.  34. 

V II I.  Jesus  speaks  to  the  demons  and  asks  them  their  name;  and 
we  find  that  they  answer  him.  He  also  threatens  them,  commands 
them  to  be  silent,  to  depart,  and  not  to  return,  Mark  1.  25.  5.  8,  9. 
25,   Matt    8.29—31.  Luke  4.  35,  8.30—32. 

IX.  When  the  seventy  disciples  returned  from  their  labours  one 
P/'otninent  cause  ol  their  joy  was,  that  the  devils,  when  the  name  of 
^  rist  was  pronounced,  obeyed  them.  Jesus  answered  them,  as 
follows,  in  Luke  10.  18;  "7  6e/ie/<y  Satan,  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven.  Behold,  1  give  unto  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents  and 
scorpions,  and  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  nothing  shall  by 
any  means  hurt  you;  notwithstanding,  in  this  rejoice  not,  that  the  sei' 
9.\Ts  are  subject  unto  you,  but  rather  rejoiccf  because  your  names  are 
written  in  heaven.^'' 

X.  When  the  Saviour  was  accused  by  the  Pharisees  of  casting  out 
devils  by  the  aid  of  Beelzebub,  he  replied,  that  the  kingdom,  the 


CURE  OF  A  DUMB  DEMONIAC.  209 

Then  Jesus  answerincr,  said:  0  perverse  and  unbeliev- 
ing: race,  how  long  shall  I  be  with  vou?  How  long 
shall  I  endure  >ou?  Bring  thy  son  hither  to  me.  Ac- 
cordingly they  brought  him  to  Jesus,  but  as  he  was 
coming,  the  demon  threw  him  down,  and  convulsed  him 
so  that  he  foamed  and  rolled  on  the  ground.  Jesus 
asked  his  father;  How  long  is  it  since  this  first  befell 
him?  And  he  answered:  From  his  infancy,  and  often 
it  has  thrown  him  into  the  fire  and   into  the  water  to 

city,  or  the  family,  in  which  were  dissensions  and  discords,  wonid  of 
itself  perish;  and  th;it,  consequently,  if  there  were  such  discords  in 
the  kingdom  of  Satan,  as  to  induce  one  devil  to  exert  his  power  in 
the  expulsion  of  another,  it  could  notions;  exist.  To  these  things, 
he  immediately  adds;  "//"  /  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom 
do  your  sons  cast  them  out?  Therefore,  they  shall  be  your  judges.  But 
if  least  out  devils  by  the  spirit  of  God,  (by  divine  power  or  a  miracle,) 
then  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  unto  you.  Or  else  how  can  one  enter 
into  a  strong  man''s  hovse,  and  spoil  his  goods,  except  he  first  bind  the 
strong  man?  and  then  he  will  spoil  his  house,''''  Matt.  12.  25,  28, 
Mark  3.  23— 25.     Luke  11.  17— 19. 

XI.  Jesus  makes  the  following  remarks  in  respect  to  demons,  or 
evil  spirits  in  Matt.  12.  43,  and  in  Luke  1 1.  24,  ''When  the  unclean 
spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he  walketh  through  dry  places,  seeking  rest 
but  finding  none.  He  saith,  I  will  return  to  my  house,  whence  I  came 
out.  And  when  he  cometh,  he  findeth  it  swept  and  garnished;  then 
goeth  he  and  taketh  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself;  and 
they  enter  in  and  dwell  there,  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  is  worse 
than  the  first."  It  is  very  clear,  that  a  person  would  not  naturally 
undei  stand  expressions  of  this  kind  in  respect  to  a  disease. 

XI I.  The  woman  in  Luke  13.  11,  who  was  bowed  down  with  the 
spirit  of  infirmity,  is  said  by  the  Saviour  in  the  sixteenth  verse,  to 
have  been  bound  by  Satan.  The  Apostle  Peter,  in  like  manner, 
asserts  in  Acts  10.  38,  that  all,  who  had  been  oppressed  with  the 
devil,  K%TO(.^vvAa-iivoiJihovi  wo  Tov  ^iKjioXov,  were  healed  by  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  anointed  of  God. 

XIII.  The  wonderful  miracles  of  Jesus  will  appear  of  but  com- 
paratively little  importance  and  little  worth,  if  it  should  be  admitted, 
th..t  he  did  not  actually  cast  out  devils,  but  merely  healed  diseases. 
The  Church  Fathers,  accordingly,  embraced,  without  any  dissent- 
ing voice,  the  opinion,  that  the  persons,  of  whom  we  have  been 
speaking,  were  really  possessed  with  demons,  and  the  Church  it- 
sell,  in  accordince  with  this  opmion,  instituted  an  order  of  persons, 
called  exorcists. 


210  CURE    OF   A   DUMB    DEMONIAC* 

destroy  him;  but  if  thou  canst  do  any  thing  to  help  us, 
have  compassion  on  us.  Jesus  answered:  If  thou  canst 
believe,  all  things  are  possible  for  him  that  believes. 
Immediately  the  father  of  the  child  cried  with  tears: 
Master,  I  believe,  help  thou  my  unbelief!  When  Jesus 
saw  the  people  running  and  crowding  together,  he  re, 
buked  the  unclean  spirit,  saying  to  it:  Thou  dumb  and 
deaf  spirit,  I  command  thee  to  come  out  of  him,  anj 
enter  into  him  no  more.     Then  the  demon*  crying  an^ 

*  As  the  original  word  Aatjuoviov  here  rendered  demon  is  gene- 
rally translated  devil  in  the  received  translation,  the  following 
critical  remarks  from  Dr.  Campbell's  sixth  dissertation,  are  wor- 
thy of  attention. 

The  equivocal  words  on  which  I  intend  to  make  some  observa- 
tions, are  ^«a./So\oj,  ^«t/xw»,  and  ^aj^ovtov,  all  rendere'i  in  the  ommon 
translation  almost  invariably  devil.  The  word  ia/SoXo;,  in  its  or- 
dinary acceptation,  signifies  calumniator,  traducer,  false  accuser^ 
from  the  verb  ^tutiSaXXsiv,  to  calumniate,  &c.  Though  the  word  is 
sometimes,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New,  applied 
to  men  and  women  of  this  character,  it  is,  by  way  of  eminence, 
employed  to  denote  that  apostate  angel,  who  is  exhibited  to  us, 
particularly  in  the  New  Testament,  as  the  great  enemy  of  God 
and  man. 

Aja/SoXo;,  I  observed,  is  sometimes  applied  to  human  beings. 
But  nothing  is  easier  than  to  distinguish  this  application  from  the 
more  frequent  application  to  the  arch-apostate.  One  mark  of 
distinction  is  that,  in  this  last  use  of  the  term,  it  is  never  found  in 
the  plural.  When  the  plural  is  used,  the  context  always  shows 
that  it  is  human  beings,  and  not  fallen  angels,  that  are  intended. 

It  is  now  proper  to  enquire,  secondly,  into  the  use  that  has 
been  made  of  the  terms  ^ohjjluv  and  <Jat/xovKjv.  First,  as  to  the  word 
^«tjuwv,  it  occurs  only  five  times  in  the  New  Testament,  once  in 
each  of  the  three  Gospels,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  and  twice 
in  the  Apocalypse.  It  is  remarkable,  that  in  the  three  Gospels  it 
refers  to  the  same  possession,  to  wit,  that  of  the  furious  man  iu 
the  country  of  the  Gadarenes,  who  haunted  the  sepulchres. 
There  does  not,  however,  seem  to  be  any  material  difference  in. 
its  application  from  that  of  the  diminutive  ^oiifMuioy,  which  is  also 
used  by  Luke  in  relation  to  the  same  demoniac. 

ActifMimv  occurs  frequently  in  the  Gospels,  and  always  in  refer- 
ence to  possessions  real  or  supposed.  But  the  word  SmBoXo^  is 
never  so  applied.  The  use  ot  the  term  ^at^ovwv  is  as  constantly 
indefinite.    Not  but  that  it  is  sometimes  attended  with  the  arti- 


CURE  OP  A  DUMB  DEMONIAC.  2 1 1 

convulsing  him  departed  from  him.  And  he  was  so  like 
one  dead,  that  many  said:  He  is  dead.  But  Jesus  ta- 
king him  by  the  hand,  raised  him,  and  delivered  him  to 
his  father,  and  the  child  was  cured  from  that  moment. 
And  all  were  amazed  at  the  mighty  power  of  God. 

And  when  they  went  into  a  house,  the  disciples  asked 
him  privately:  Why  could  not  we  expel  the  demon? 
Jesus  answered:  Because  of  the  weakness  of  your  faith; 


cle:  but  that  is  only  when  the  ordinary  rules  of  composition  re- 
quire that  the  article  be  used  even  of  a  term  that  is  strictly  indefi- 
nite. Thus,  when  a  possession  is  first  named,  it  is  called  simply 
a  (lemon,  or  an  unclean  spirit,  never  to  ^«»juovjov,  to  'rviviJ.oi,  KKccOocfrov . 
But,  when  in  the  progress  of  the  story,  mention  is  again  made  of 
the  same  demon,  he  is  styled  the  demon,  namely,  that  already 
spoken  of.  And  in  English  as  well  as  Greek,  this  is  the  usage  in 
regard  to  all  indefinites.  Further,  the  plural  ^ajjUOP»»  occurs  fre- 
quently applied  to  the  same  order  of  beings  with  the  singular. 
But  what  sets  the  difference  of  signification  in  the  clearest  light 
is  that,  though  both  words,  ^ta/SoXo?  and  ^at^owov,  occur  often  in  the 
Septuagint,  they  are  invariably  used  for  translating  different  He- 
brew words.  What  the  precise  idea  of  the  demons,  to  whom  pos- 
sessions were  ascribed,  then  was,  it  would  perhaps  be  impossible 
for  us  with  any  certainty  to  afiirm;  but,  as  it  is  evident  that  the 
two  words,  ^«a/3oXo?  and  oat/^oviov,  are  not  once  confounded,  though 
the  first  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  upwards  of  thirty  times, 
and  the  second  about  sixty,  they  can,  by  no  just  rule  of  interpre- 
tation, be  rendered  by  the  same  term.  Possessions  are  never  at- 
tributed to  the  being  termed  6  ^Kz^oXog.  Nor  are  his  authority  and 
dominion  ever  ascribed  to  ^a»juon«.  The  Jewish  notion  of  the  devil 
had  no  resemblance  to  what  the  Persians  first,  and  the  Mani- 
cheans  afterwards,  called  the  evil  principle,  which  they  made  in 
some  sort  co  ordinate  with  God,  and  the  first  source  of  all  evil, 
as  the  other  is  of  good.  For  the  devil,  in  the  Jewish  system,  was 
a  creature  as  much  as  any  other  being  in  the  universe,  and  as  lia- 
ble to  be  controlled  by  omnipotence,  an  attribute  which  they  as- 
cribed to  God  alone.  But  still  the  devil  is  spoken  of  as  only  one; 
and  the  other  beings,  however  bad,  are  never  confounded  with 
him  in  the  scriptures. 

1  observe  further  that,  though  we  cannot  discover  with  certain- 
ty, from  ail  that  is  said  in  the  gospel  concerning  possession, 
whether  ilie  demons  were  conceived  to  be  the  ghosts  of  wicked 
mei)  deceased  or  lapsed  angels,  or  (as  was  the  opinion  of  some 
earij  Ciuistian  writers)  the  mongrel  breed  of  certain  angels 
(whom  they  understood  by  the  S07is  of  God  mentioned  in  Gene- 


2\2 


CURE  OF  A  DUMB  DEMONIAC. 


for  verily  T  say  to  you:  If  ye  had  faith,  (houg^h  it  were 
like  a  strain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  might  sav  to  this  moun- 
tain: Remove  to  yonder  place,  and  it  would  remove;  and 
to  this  sycamine:  Be  thou  extirpated,  and  planted  in  the 
sea,  and  it  would  obey  you.  Yea,  nothing  would  be 
impracticable  to  you.  However,  this  kind  cannot  be 
dispossessed  without  prayer  and  fasting.  And  the  dis- 
cioles  said:  Lord  increase  our  faith* 


sis),  arnl  of  the  da  's^hters  of  men;  it  is  ptain  they  were  con-eived 
to  be  maliiinant  spirits.  They  are  exhibite»J  as  the  causes  of  the 
most  <lir"ful  calamities  to  the  unhappy  persons  whom  t  ev  possess, 
dumbness,  deafness,  madness,  palsy,  epilepsy,  and  the  like.  The 
descriptive  titles  given  them,  always  «lenote  some  ill  quality 
or  other.  Most  trequeiitly  they  are  called  unclean  spirits,  some- 
times malisrn  spirits.  They  are  represented  as  conscious  that 
they  are  doomed  to  misery  anfl  torments,  though  their  punishment 
be  for  a  whi|p  suspended.  Art  thou  come  hither,  to  torment  us 
before  the  time? 

*  This  request  of  the  disciple,  as  well  as  the  supplication  of 
the  father  of  the  insane  boy,  are  worthy  of  frequent  reflection  and 
imitation.  Lord  increase  our  faith,  Help  my  unbelief!  What 
expressions  can  be  better  adapted  to  the  case  of  poor  sinners, 
dving  and  falling  into  hell,  through  lack  of  faith?  In  this  aj^e  of 
scepticism,  when  the  empty,  vain,  ignorant  and  ungodly,  are  ma- 
king light  nf  religion,  and  despising  that  faith,  which  is  the  gift  of 
God,  and  without  which  there  is  no  means  of  escaping  the  fate  of 
devils,  may  all  sincere  persons  be  found  supplicating  the  God 
and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  help  of  his  holy  spirit, 
that  they  may  believe  and  be  saved.  Buxtorf  tells  us,  the  Jews 
vtere  accustomed  to  compare  any  thing  very  small  to  a  grain  of 
mustard  seed,  yet  no  seed  so  small  produces  so  rapidly,  on  b'ing 
planted,  so  large  a  tree.  It  is  that  living,  active,  operative  faith, 
that  produces  sensations  quick  and  vivid,  like  the  mustard  seed 
applied  to  the  tongue,  which  can  be  profitable  to  man.  Not  so 
Hiuch  the  qiiantiiy,  which  uidy  approach  implicit  credulit)',  out 
the  quality  is  regarded. 


SECTION  FIFTY-SEVENTH. 

Jesus  Instructs  his  Disciples  Privately. 

Now  whilst  ail  were  admiring  every  thing  that  Jesus 
did,  he  left  that  place,  being  desirous  that  none  should 


JESUS  INSTRUCTS    HIS   DISCIPLES    PRIVATELY.      213 

know*  him,  whilst  they  journeyed  throujjh  Galilee, 
for  he  was  instnicling  his  disciples.  And  he  Sfiid  to  them: 
IN^cirk  dilijrently  these  disrourses;  for  the  Son  of  Man  will 
soon  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men,  who  will  kill 
him;  but  after  he  is  put  to  death,  he  will  rise  again,  on 
the  third  day.  And  they  were  exceedingly  sorrowful, 
though  they  perceived  not  his  meaning,  because  it  was 
mysterious  to  theni,f  and  they  were  afraid  to  ask  him. 

*  After  the  death  of  the  Biiptist.  Jesus  left  the  doiTiinions  of 
Herod,  and  as  it  appears  from  Mark  7.  "^4.  and  9.  30,  he  endea- 
voured to  conceal  liimself,  ai'd  avoid  public  notice,  espncial'y  in 
Galilee.  Shortly  aftei  the  death  of  the  Baptist,  the  people  would 
have  made  Jesus  kinj:,  but  finding  him  averse  <o  their  views  of  a 
pditical  J\)essiah,  even  some  of  his  own  disciples-  and  relations 
forsook  him.  His  conduct  and  discourse  at  the  Pentecost,  had 
become  so  offensive  to  the  Jews,  that  they  sought  to  kill  him; 
therefore,  he  was  the  more  earnest  in  seeking  retirement,  and  giv- 
ing proper  instructions  to  his  disciples,  that  they  might  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  his  kingdom,  and  the  design  of  his 
ministry,  and  be  able  to  manage  tlie  affairs  of  the  Christian 
Church  after  his  death,  in  a  manner  becoming  the  successors  of 
Jesus,  in  the  work  of  redemption  and  reconciliation. 

t  The  disciples  were  even  yet  so  strotigly  inclined  to  the  be- 
lief, that  the  Messiah  sl<ould  be  an  earthly  monarch,  to  sit  forever 
on  tne  throne  of  David,  that  they  could  not  conceive  how  Jesus 
could  be  the  true  Messiah,  and  yet  suffer  death;  for  in  his  death, 
they  naturally  supposed  all  their  hopes  of  advantage  would  per- 
ish. Hence  they  could  not  understand  even  the  plainest  language, 
when  it  was  inconsistent  with  their  prejudices.  O  hov^  difficult  it 
Is  to  teach  men  lessons  of  humiliation  and  self-denial. 


SECTION  FIFTY  EIGHTH. 

PaVMENT  of  THE  TuiBUTE  MoNEY. 

When  they  came  to  Capernaum,  the  collectors  of 
tribute  came  to  Peter,  and  said:  Does  not  your  Master 
pay  the  didrachma?  He  answeied  yes.  But  as  he 
cauie    into    the    house,  Jesus    anticipating   him,  said: 

S8 


214      PAYMENT  OF  THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 

What    is  your  opinion.  Simon .^     From  whom  do  the 
tings    of  the  earth  exact   tribute   or   custom.?     From 
their  own    children  or  from  others.?     Peter  answered: 
From  others:    J'sus  replied:    Then  the  children  should 
be   t^xempted  *     Nevertheless,  lest  we  should  give  of- 
fence, go  to  the  sea,  cast  in  a  line,  and  draw  out  the 
first  fish  that  is  hooked,  and  when  thou  hast  opened  its 
mouth,  thou  shalt  find  a  stater,!  which  take  and  give  to 
them,  for  me  and  thee. 


*Josephus  Antiq.  L.  18.  C.  9.  sect.  1,  says  each  Jew  paid  yearly 
a  «!idrachma,  or  half  shekel  for  the  service  of  the  temple.  Dodd- 
ridge suppo^«^s  this  custom  took  its  rise  from  the  payment  of  a 
certain  sum  by  ev(  ly  Israelite,  when  numbered,  Ex  SO.  13.  Neh. 
10.  32.  1  he  arguiDent  is  this:  If  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  not  exact 
tribute  fi  m  tlt^ir  own  sons,  but  from  their  subjects,  then  Jesus, 
the  Son  of  the  King  of  Heaven,  ought,  on  the  same  principle,  to 
be  exempted  from  paying  tribute,  for  the  support  of  the  temple 
service.  Here  two  propositions  are  established:  1.  This  tax  was 
not  for  the  Romans,  but  for  the  temple.  See  Beza,  Casaubon, 
Hammond,  and  Grotius.  2.  The  doctrine  of  the  divine  Sonship, 
and  pre-t^xistent  dignity  of  Christy  for  if  Jesus  were  not  of  celes- 
tial origin,  he  could  not  have  here  pleaded  exemption  from  the 
duty  of  every  Jew  above  twenty  years  of  age,  on  account  of  a  pe- 
culi;ir  relationship  to  the  God  of  their  temple. 

I  The  stater  was  a  silver  coin,  equal  to  two  didrachma,  that  is 
thiee  shillings  British,  or  sixty  cents  American.  This  was  the 
amount  of  tribute  f(»r  Christ  and  Peter.  In  whatever  light  we 
regard  this  miraculous  event,  whether  Christ  created  the  stater  ia 
the  fi>h,  or  knew  what  fish  had  such  a  piece  of  money  in  its  bow- 
els, and  caused  it  to  take  the  bait  cast  by  Peter,  the  narrative 
raises  our  view  to  attributes  of  Deity. 


SECTION  FIFTY  NINTH. 

Discourse  concerning  Humility. 

At  the  same  hour,  Jesus  being  in  the  house,  the  dis- 
ciples came  to  him,  and  he  asked  them:  Concerning 
what  were  ye  debating  by  the  way?  But  they  were  si- 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  HUMILITY.  215 

lent;*  for  by  the  way  they  had  disputed  araon^  them- 
selves, who  of  them  should  be  the  {greatest  But  Je^us 
perceiving  the  reasoningjs  of  their  hearts,  sat  down  and 


*The  reason,  Micheelis  observes  on  this  conversation,  whv  ap- 
parent contradictions  are  unavoi<Iable  in  the  deposition  of  several 
eye  witnesses  to  the  same  transa<tion  is  easy  to  be  assiy;ned. 
They  do  not  all  observe  every  minute  circumstance  of  the  trais- 
action,  but  some  pay  particular  attention  to  one  circumstancej 
others,  to  another:  this  occasions  a  variation  in  their  accouiits, 
which  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  reconcile.  This  happened  like- 
wise to  the  Evangelists,  as  I  will  illustrate  bv  the  following  in- 
stance. Matthew,  chap,  xviii.  1 — 14,  and  Mark,  ch.  ix  33, 
50,  relate  the  same  transaction,  but  in  different  points  of  view,  and 
for  that  reason  appear,  at  first  sight,  to  contradict  each  other. 

Matthew  says:  At  that  time  came  the  disciples  to  Jesus, 
and  said:  Who  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.? — 
Mark,  on  the  contrary:  He  came  to  Capernaum,  and  having  en- 
tered into  an  house,  he  asked  them:  What  was  it  tliatye  disputed 
among  yourselves  by  the  way?  But  they  held  their  peace;  for  br 
the  way  they  had  disputed  among  themselves,  who  should  be  the 
greatest.  According  to  Matthew,  the  disciples  themselves 
lay  the  subject  of  their  dispute  before  Jesus,  for  his  decision;  but, 
according  to  Mark,  they  even  refuse  to  relate  the  subject  of 
their  dispute,  though  Jesus  requested  it,  because  they  were  con- 
scious to  themselves  that  it  would  occasion  a  reproof.  The  ques- 
tion is,  how  these  accounts  are  to  be  rec(»nciled. 

Without  entering  into  the  various  solutions  which  have  been 
given  by  the  commentators,  I  shall  only  observe,  that,  as  t  lis 
transaction  relates  to  a  matter  of  dispute  among  the  disciples,  it 
has  of  course  two  different  sides,  and  therefore  capible  of  two 
different  representations.  Some  of  the  disciples  laid  claim  to  the 
title  of  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  among  whom  we 
may  probably  reckon  Peter,  with  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  Jiiues 
and  John.  These  could  hardly  expect  to  escape  a  rf  ro»t,  iTid 
were  undoubtedly  ashamed,  when  questioned  as  to  the  -iutjtM  t  of 
their  dispute.  Other  disciples,  on  the  contrary,  may  be  consider- 
ed as  the  party  attacked,  who,  without  claiming  the  firs  r.tniv  for 
♦fiemselves,  might  yet  think  it  unjust  to  be  treated  as  inferiors, 
since  they  all  appeared  to  be  equal.  The  latter  had  less  reason 
to  fear  a  reproof,  since  tUe  pure  morality  of  (Christ,  which  teac  .es 
that  every  action  must  be  estimated  by  the  ino'ives  w.iich  ^ave  it 
birth,  was  not  then  fuKy  understood  by  his  disciples,  la  th  ir 
outward  behaviour,  at  least,  t  iere  was  notiiing  unreasonable,  and, 
without  being  guilty  of  a  breach  of  propriety,  they  might  lay  their 
complaints  before  their  Master,  and  request  his  decision.     It  is 


216  DISCOURSB    CONCERNING    HUMILITY. 

called  tbo  twelve,  and  said  to  them:  If  any  one  seeV  to 
be  first,  let  him  be  last,  and  servant  of  all.     But  they 


probable  that     Matthew   was  of  thTs  party,  since  a  man,    who 
was  by  profession  a  tax-gntheier,   and  never  particularly  distin- 
guishpd  himself  among  the  Apostles,  would  have  hardly  supposed 
that  he  should  become  the  fiist  in  the  kingdom  of  God.     He  re- 
lates the  transactiim,  therefore,  as  one  of  that  party  to  which  he 
belongpd.      Mark,  on    the  contrary,  who    derived     information 
from     Peter,    considers   the   iiiatter    from  an    opposite  point  of 
view,     let  us  suppose  the  full  state  of  ihe  case  to  be  as  follows: 
Some  of  he  disciples,  who  were  of  the  diffident  party,  and  laid 
no  claim  to  the  first  rank,  bring  the  matter  before  Christ,  with  the 
same  kind  ot  indignation  as  was  displaced  by  ten  of  the  Aposties 
on  another  occasion.  Matt.  xx.  24.     Christ  reserves  the  decision 
of  the  dispute  till  thev  were  entered  into  the  house,  whe  e  they 
vere  accustomed  to  meet:  he  then  calls  his  disciples  togethir,  and 
inquires  into  the  subject  of  their  dispute,  to  which  Peter,  Jamrs, 
Jof^n.  and  those  in  general  who  had  claim  to  pre-eminence  make 
no  answer.     If  the  transactiim  was  literally  as  here  described,  it 
is  bv  no  means  impossible  that  Matlhev\   and  Maik  might  con- 
sider it  from  difterent  points  of  view,  and  write  what  we  find  in 
their  Gospels,  without  tiie   least  violation  of  truth.     The  one  re- 
lates one  part,  and  the  other  another  part  of  the  transaction,  but 
neither  of  them  relates  the   whole.     If  v\e   read    a  few    verses 
further  in    iViark  s   Gospel,    we  find  a  circumstance   recorded  of 
John,   which  Matthew  passes  over  in  silence,    and  from  which 
it  jippears  that   John  was  moie  concerned  in  this  dispute  than 
most  of  the  other  disciples.     He  even  ventured,  when  Christ, 
■with  a  view  of  introducing  a  peifect  equality  .  mtmg  his  disciples, 
said,  '"XN  hoever  receives  one  of  these  children  in  my   name,  re- 
ceives  me,"  to  doubt  of  the  unneisality  of  tins  pos.tion.  alleging 
that  persons  of  unexceptiona.  le  character,  might  appeal  to  the 
name  of  Jesus,  anti  giving  an  instance  of   one   who  had  cast  out 
devils  in  his  name,   whom  the  Apostles  had    rebuked,  Mark  ix. 
37,  38.      1  his  again  oicasioied  replies  from  Chri>t;  which,  though 
they   are   mentioned   by    .Njatthew,    have   in  his  Gospel  a  differ- 
ent appeaiarce,  and  are  at  eiided  with  less  pt  rspicuity  than  they 
are   in    Maik's  Gospel,  because    Maithew    ha*  not  related   the 
causes  which  gave  them  birth. — Aiarsh  s   JViiciiaelis,   vol.  iii.  pt. 
1.  p.  6—9. 

The  manner  in  which  the  history  is  arranged  in  this  section, 
seems  to  me  lo  obviate  entirely  the  flifficullies,  which  drew  from 
the  learned  Protessor,  the  above  prolix  note.  'J  he  Lvanj^ehsts  are 
far  froni  contradicting  each  otiier.  Mark  says  Jesus  iiKjuiied  of 
the  disciples,  the  subject  ol  Ibeir  debate  without  giviug  any  inlor- 


DISCOURSE  CONCEllNING  HUMILITY.  B17 

said  to  him:  Who  then  is  gjreatest*  in  the  kinpjdom  of 
thp  hijjhest  Heaven?  Jesus  calling  a  little  child  to  him 
and  taking  him  in  his  arms,  he  placed  him  in  the  midst 

mntion  how  Jp.?us  obtained  knowledge  of  their  disputation;  Luke 
however  informs  u'*  th;it  Chnst'%  acquaintance  with  their  conversa- 
tion arose  from  liis  knowlek-je  of  their  hearts.  Thus  without  any 
information  from  the  apostles,  Jesus  knows  the  subject,  and  begins 
to  correct  their  mistakes,  which  draws  from  the  disciples  the  ques- 
tion recorded  by  Matthew.  Thus  there  is  not  even  the  semblance 
of  discrej)ancy. 

*  li  is  something  remark<ble  that  at  the  very  time  when  Jesus 
was  informing  I  is  apostles  of  his  sufferings   and  death,  they  should 
still  imagine  that  he  would  be    a  temporal  prince;   and    as   such 
princes  must  have  officers,  persons  of  high  rank   and  power  about 
the'o,  the}  should    be  disputing  among  themselves  who   should  fill 
these  offices.     But  we  are  tolil  that  plainly  as  he  spoke  to  them  on 
the  subject,  they  really  did  not  understand  him  in  the  literal  sense 
of  his  words;  imagining  probably  that  as   he  was  used  to   speak  in 
paribles,  and  make  use  ot" strong  figures  of  speech,    he  had  some 
figurative    meanmg    in  what  he  said    on  this  subject.     And   as  he 
spoke  of  his  resurrection  as  soon  to  follow    his  death,  they  might 
imagine  that  whateve""  were  the  difficulties  through  which   he  was 
to  pass  in  the  way   to  his  advancement,  which  difficulties  might  be 
signified  by  his  deaths  he  would  soon  surmount  them  all.     And  as  he 
sp*'aks  of  these  sufferings  as   near  at   hand,  they    would   of  course 
conclude  that  his  advancement  to  power,  which  was  soon  to  follow 
them,   was  at  hand  also.     Consequently  the   very  discourse  which 
mig'.t  seem  calculated   to  lower  their  expectations,  and  lead  them 
to  think  o\' suffering  with  their  Master,  would  naturally  enough  lead 
them  to  think  oi reigning  with  him,  and  that  in  this  world.  For  some 
Jtws  had  no  idea  oi' their  Messiah  having  any  other  kingdom  than 
such  as  David's,  whose  descendant   lie  was  to  be.     Therefore  he 
thus  addresyes  them:  Except  you  divest  yourselves  of  the  ambitious 
views  which  you  now  entertain,  and  of  the  envy   and  jealousy  of 
one  anotiier,  which  has  occasioned  this  altercation,  and  become  as 
free  from  every  thing  ol  the  kind  as  a  child,  so  far  will  you  be  from 
advancement  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,   that  you  will  not   be  per- 
mitted to  enter  into  it,  or  to  share  in  any  of  the  blessings  of  it.     In 
answer  to  your  question,  I  must  therefore  inform  you  that  the  great- 
est in   my   kingdom  is   he  whose   temper  and  disposition  shall  ap- 
proach the  nearest  to  this  child,  which  1  now  set  before  you 

It  seems  utterly  inconceivable,  how  such  a  passage  can  he  admit- 
ted to  belong  to  holy  writ,  an<l  the  pretence  to  the  Pontifical  rank, 
in  the  holy  ministry,  continued.     If  ever  Jesus  had  intended  to  in- 


21^ 


DISCOURSE  ©ONCERNINft  HUWILITY. 


of  tbem,  and  said:  Verily  I  say:  Unless  ye  be  convert- 
ed, and  become  like  little  cbildren*  ye  shall  never  enter 
the  kingdom  of  the  highest  Heaven.f  Whosoever  there- 
fore shall  humble  himself  like  this  little  child,  he  is  the 
greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  the  highest  Heaven 

Then  John  answered,  saying:  Master,  we  saw  one, 
expelling  demons  in  thy  name,  and  we  forbade  him  be- 
cause he  does  not  follow  us.f     Jesus  said:    Forbid  him 


troduce  the  distinctions  of  lord  Bishop,  Rector,  Vicar,  and  Curate, 
this  was  the  time  to  have  announced  the  commission;  for  undoubted- 
ly the  question  was  now  brought  before  him,  in  the  most  express 
terms.  Let  then  the  unprejudiced  say,  what  authority  such  distinc- 
tions obtained  from  Jesus.  In  our  opmion,  it  would  be  stabbing 
the  dead,  to  add  another  word  agnnst  hierarchical  dignitaries. 

*  "We  must  not,"  says  Michaelis,  (Anmerk,)  "bring  together,  in 
illustration  of  these  words,  all  the  properties  of  children,  which 
may  be  either  good  or  bad,  as  is  sometimes  done  in  the  pulpit  effu- 
sions of  well-disposed  men:  the  meaning  of  the  precept,  if  we  attend 
to  the  occasion  which  gave  rise  to  it,  can  be  only,  that  he,  who 
would  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  mus<  no  more  pretend  to 
merit,  than  can  a  child  with  any  s'ow  of  justice;  I  purposely  say, 
can  with  any  appearance  of  justice,  for  not  seldom  are  children 
presumptuous,  and  entertain  high  opinions  of  their  own  deserts." 
This  solution  relieves  us  from  a  considerable  difficulty.  Our  own 
language  contains  a  multitude  of  Sermons,  the  writers  of  which 
seem  to  have  thought  themselves  bound  to  shut  their  eyes  to  all 
the  early  manifestation  of  the  corruption  of  human  nature;  and  we 
have  delineations  of  childhood  in  which  the  hearer  or  reader  per- 
ceives as  little  of  reality  and  truth,  as  m  the  wildest  tictions  of  Ro- 
mance. 

t  This  declaration  is  totally  repugnant  to  the  doctrine  of  Univer- 
sal Salvation  which  says  all  men  shall  enter  the  kingdom  offlpaven, 
whatever  their  character  may  have  been.  Here  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven  cannot  mean  the  visible  church  on  earth;  for  in  that  church 
were  these  very  apostles  of  Jesus,  to  whom  he  says,  thai  unless 
they  should  be  converted  they  never  should  enter  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven.  As  the  proud  and  ambitious  may  enter  the  church  here, 
we  must  understand  this  kingdom  to  mean  the  church  hereafter. 

J  How  frequently  do  we  see  the  same  disposition,  manifested  in 
the  present  age.  Bigotry  is  so  lawlessly  attached  to  its  own  creed, 
that  it  would  rather  let  sinners  perish,  than  suffer  those  of  a  differ- 
ent opinion  to  become  the  instruments  of  their  salvation.  It  is  al- 
ways ready  to  deny  or  suspect  the  good  done  by  those  that  are  not 
its  professed  followers.     The  advice  of  oar  Lord  should  be  solemn- 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  HUMILITY.  219 

not;  for  whoever  is  not  against  you,  is  for  you.  And 
there  is  none  who  works  a  miracle  in  my  name,  that 
will  readily  speak  disrespectfully  of  me.  It  were  better 
for  any  man  to  have  an  upper  millstone*  fastened  to  his 
neck,  and  to  be  cast  into  the  deep  sea,  than  to  ensnare 
any  of  the  little  ones,  who  believe  in  me.  Beware  of 
despising  any  of  those  little  ones;  for  I  assure  you: 
Their  angelsf  ceaselessly  behold  the  face  of  nfiy  Father 
in  the  highest  Heaven. 

Then  he  said  to  them:  Alas!  for  the  world  because  of 
snares  I     It  is  impossible  to  exclude  them  entirely,  but 

ly  respected  by  all  his  followers,  and  unity  and  co-operation  dis- 
tiniiuish  disciples  of  Christ  from  fiery  and  uncharitable  sectarians. 

*  Doddridge  refers  to  Raphel's  note  from  Xenophon,  as  proof, 
that  fjivXo?o»woj  signifies  a  huge  mill  stone,  too  large  to  be  turned  by 
the  hiind,  and  therefore  turned  by  asses,  which  were  used  by  the 
Jews  tor  that  purpose.  Before  the  invention  oi^wind  and  water  mills, 
the  stones  were  turned  by  slaves,  but  more  generally  by  asses  or 
mules.  Dr.  A.  Clarke  on  Matt.  18,  6,  but  especially  Casaubon,  has 
shown  from  good  authority,  that  the  ancient  Hindoos,  Greeks,  and 
Syrians,  punished  notorious  oflFenders,  or  persons  devoted  to  de- 
struction, by  binding  a  vast  stone  to  the  criminal's  neck,  and  then 
casting  him  into  the  water. 

t  To  see  the  face  of  God  denotes  according  to  the  Jewish  and 
Eastern  custom  and  idiom  of  speech,  a  state  of  peculiar  honour  and 
favour.  Foi  t;  ose  who  were  admitted  to  see  the  face  of  an  Eastern 
Monarch  were  the  most  distinguished  personages  of  his  court. 
Thus  the  seven  princes  of  Media  and  Persia,  who  were  the  favor- 
ites and  privy  counsellors  of  Ahasuerus,  are  said  to  see  the  king's 
face.  See  Est;..  1.  14;  2  Kings  25.  19;  and  Jer.  51.  25.  Accord- 
ing theretore  to  the  Jewish  opinion,  that  particular  persons  had  their 
gn  iniian  angels,  Jesus  says:,jTreat  not  the  meanest  Christians  with 
neglect  or  disflain;  for  1  assure  you  the  most  exalted  angels  are  their 
guardians  and  ministers.  • 

I  The  axav^aXa  alluded  to,  are  the  calamities  and  persecutions 
which  thieaiened  the  Christian  C'lurch.  Such  is  the  opinion  of 
Noesselt,  approved  by  Schleusner.  These,  though  future,  might  be 
present  to  the  mind  of  Christ,  and  might  therefore,  being  uppermost 
in  his  thoughts,  be  made  the  subjects  of  reference.  Lord  Bacon, 
as  quoted  by  Archbishop  Neivcome  on  our  Lord's  Conduct,  8vo. 
p.  117,  has  a  most  masterly  remark,  viz.  that  our  Saviour  knowing 
the  mind?  of  men,  often  replies  to  the  thoughts  of  his  hearers,  rather 
than  to  their  actual  questions.     \  am  of  opinion,  that  in  like  manner 


220  DISCOURSE    CONCERNING   HUMILITY. 

alas!  for  the  man  by  whom  the  temptation  comes. 
Wherefore  if  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  lead  thee  to  sin,  cut 
it  otf*  and  cast  it  from  thee:  it  is  belter  for  thee  to  entef 
into  life,  lame  or  maimed,  than  having  two  hands  or  two 
feet,  to  be  cast  into  the  everlasting  fire,  the  Gehenna,f 
where  their  worm  dies  not,  arjd  the  fire  is  not  quenched  J 

He  somptinics  refeis  to  what  has  recently  been  the  subject  of  his 
own  meditation,  though  it  may  not  liave  been  the  subject  of  dis- 
course; and  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  present  instance  may  be  of 
this  kind:  the  calamities  which  threatened  the  rising  Church,  we 
know,  from  other  places,  strongly  moved  the  compassion  of  our 
Saviour. 

*  Let  it  be  remembered  that  our  liOrd  is  here  speaking  of  the 
enires  and  offences  which  may  obstruct  or  impede  the  progress  of 
Christians  in  the  profession  anrl  practice  of  his  religion  He  there- 
fore adopts  the  laniiu  ige  of  the  .lewisii  Sanhedrin  and  Rabbis  oa 
this  subject,  where  they  recommend  the  literal  practice  of  this  rule 
or  advice,  b^^lieving  and  recommending  it  to  be  better  to  cut  off  or 
destroy  any  pirt  of  the  body,  that  might  be  instrumental  in  seducing 
the  Christian  from  his  duty,  than  to  expose  the  soul  to  the  fire  of 
Gehenna.  An  eye,  a  hand,  a  friend,  a  f  .ther,  a  mother,  a  wiie,  or 
npy  thing,  if  it  will  obstruct  tie  Thristian  journey,  must  be  cast 
away;  otherwise  it  will  sink  the  soul  into  the  hell  of  fire. 

t  ''^  hat  is  here  called  Gehenna  by  Mark,  is  denominated  ever- 
lasting fire  by  Matthew,  plain  evidence  that  these  phrases  are  synon- 
ymous, and  that  both  mean  the  tuture  torments  of  the  wicked. 
J-low  foolish,  false,  and  deceptions  are  those-  flimsy  comments,  that 
Wfuld  induce  the  reader  to  l)elieve,  ihat  the  Evangelists  only  refer- 
red to  the  valley  ot  H>nnom,  in  ti.e  vicinity  of  Jerusalem!  What 
reason,  propriety,  or  sense,  could  there  be  in  the  language  of  our 
Lord,  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  only  loiewarning,  his  disciples 
of  being  cast  into  a  valley,  into  w;ich  none  of  his  disciples  or 
folinvvers  ever  were,  or  ever  shall  be  cast?  and  for  whose  religion 
that  place  was  never  intended — Nay  it,  and  its  fires,  were  complete- 
ly obliterated  before  his  religion  was  established.  Therefore  the 
%urative  sense  oi  th"  term  Gehenna,  is  that  alone  which  could  be 
intended  by  Chrisl;  and  this  uniformly  implies  the  place  of  punish- 
ment, mto  which  the  wicked  shall  be  cast  after  the  day  of  judgment, 
or  the  tornunts  to  which  they  shall  then  be  subjected. 

J  The  reading  of  the  Persic  version  is  "Whei.ce  thou  shalt  never 
find  redemption.*'  Here  Priestley  correctly  observes  that  a  fire, 
that  s!all  not  be  quenched,  means  a  fire  that  shall  entirely  consume 
what  IS  committed  to  its  influence.  The  uninterrupted  and  almost 
Unanimous    testimony  oi  the  Christian  Church,  from  the  days  oi  its 


DfSCOURSE  CONCERNING  HUMILITY.  22\ 

And  if  thine  eye  entice  then  to  sin,  pull  it  out,  and  cast 
it  from  thee:  for  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  with  one  eye,  than  having  two  eyes  to 
be  cast  into  the  Gehenna  of  fire,  where  their  worm  dies 
not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched   For  as  every  sacrifice* 

foundation  by  Christ  to  'he  present  lime,  has  been,  that  out  of  Hell 
there  is  no  redemption.'  Hence  the  Homan  Catholic  Church  has 
aUvnys  taken  care  not  to  confounfl  the  terms  Hell  and  Purgatory> 
the  latter  applies  only  to  remedial  correction  or  chastisement,  be- 
twepn  death  and  the  genera!  judj^ment;  the  former,  or  Hell,  called 
Gehenna  in  the  original  ot"  the  New  Testament;  is  that  lake  of  un- 
quenchable fire,  into  which  all  wicked  and  ungodly  sinners  shall  be 
cast,  in  fellowship  with  the  devil  and  his  antrels.  Matt.  25  41,  and 
Rev.  20.  14.  Thus  according  to  Psalm  49.  8,  14,  19,  Hell  shall  be 
their  everlasting  abode. 

*  This  has  been  considered  one  of  the  most  difficult  passages  Ha 
the  New  Testament;  an.i  from  it,  two  opposing  and  contradictory 
interpret  itions  h^ve  been  deduced  by  the  Commentators.  Bezx, 
McKoight,  and  Schoetgen,  would  render  the  text:  Every  Chris- 
tian should  be  piiritied  by  the  tiery  trials  of  life,  as  every  sacrifice 
was  -seasoned  with  salt.  In  this  sense  I  have  given  the  passage, 
Section  twenty-ninth,  page  115;  but  in  the  position,  which  it  holds 
here,  as  a  deduction  or  conclusion  of  the  most  awful  discourse,  in 
our  Lord's  ministry,  1  think  the  more  alarming  sense  should  be  pre- 
ferred. 

Beza  takes  xa»  in  the  sense  of  «?,  as  in  Mark  10.  12,  John  14.  20, 
and  Schoetgen  renders  it  by  quemadmodum,  on  the  authority  of 
Noldius.  We  may  therefore  translate  this  passage  with  Dr.  S. 
Clarke,  As  every  sacrijice  is  seasoned  with  salt,  so  every  apostate  shall 
be  destroyed  with  fire.  It  is  a  good  saying:  We  must  be  sacrificed 
to  God,  in  the  one  way  or  the  other.  As  every  sacrifice  was  season- 
ed by  salt,  so  all  who  are  seasoned,  or  prepared  by  the  gospel  and 
grace  of  God,  to  be  a  whole  and  devoted  sacrifice  for  the  glory  of 
his  grace,  shall  be  accepted,  but  whoever  is  found  deficient  and  un- 
seasoned after  proper  trial,  shall  be  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  divine 
wrath;  or  as  Grotius  would  render  the  text:  Every  wicked  man 
shall  be  consumed,  like  the  whole  burnt  sacrifice. 

Le  Clerc  remarks,  that  all  the  elegance  ot  this  passage,  lies  in  the 
ambiguity  of  the  verb  ocKtt^w,  which  gives  emphasis  to  the  comparison. 
He  further  observes,  that  the  most  certain  way  to  attain  the  mean- 
ing, is  to  restore  the  Greek  to  the  Hebrew,  in  which  our  Lord  de- 
livered this  discourse,  and  then  the  verb,  Fimmaleuch,  signifies  both 
to  tail  aud  consume.     This  he  illustrates  by  reterrmg  to  Symmac- 

^9 


222  DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  HUMILITV. 

shall  be  seasoned  by  salt,  so  every  apostate  shall  be 
consumed  by  the  fire. 

hu!»  on  Isaiah  51.  6,  where  the  same  Hebrew  and  Greek  terin>  are 
used:  T'he  Heavens  shall  be  consumed,  or  vanish  away  like  smoke. 
He  therefore  renders  the  passage  ^'■Quemadmodum  omne  donarivm 
farreum.  Sale  condiebatur,  ita  etiam  omnis  malus  homo,  Jgne  absume- 
iur;  i.  e.  As  every  oblation  was  seasoned  with  salt,  Lev.  2.  IS, 
even  so  shall  every  wicked  man  be  consumed  by  fire. 

The  general  opinion  is  that  as  salt  seasons  meat  and  prevents 
putrefaction,  so  the  fire  of  Hell  will  have  the  peculiar  property  of 
rendering  the  bodies  of  the  wicked  indestructible;  so  that  their  tor- 
ments may  be  eternal.  Without  doubt  this  passage  is  one  of  the 
most  favorable  to  the  doctrine  of  the  endless  misery  of  the  wicked; 
and  to  that  doctrine  1  would  readily  concede,  did  not  the  voice  of 
reason  supported  by  the  general  testimony  of  scripture,  cry  aloud: 
"All  evil  is  temporary,"  and  must  therefore  come  to  an  end,  whea 
salvation  shall  be  universal  for  every  soul  that  survives  the  day  of 
God's  trial. 

Parkhurst  on  the  verb,  Malach,  suggests  another  and  good  illus- 
tration.    Though  salt  was  considered  of  supreme  authority  in  sacri- 
fices,  as  he  shows  from  the  scriptures.  Homer,  Virgil,  Pliny,  and 
others,  and  therefore  emblematic  of  purity,  and  of  a  purifying  faith, 
which  renders  believers  an  acceptible  sacrifice  well  pleasing  to  Godj 
yet  it  was  also  an  emblem  of  ruin  and  destruction.     Thus  Pliny  the 
Naturalist  says,  all  places  where  salt  is  found  are  barren  and  pro- 
duce  nothing.     The  effect  of  salt  on  vegetation  is  described  by 
burning,    Deut.  29.  23.    The  whole  land  is  salt  of  burning — It  is  not 
S0W71  nor  bears,  nor  does  any  herb  grow  therein,   like  the  overthrow  of 
Sodom.     Volney  says  the  true  cause  of  the  absence  of  animals  and 
vegetables  from  the  Dead  sea,  is  the  acrid  saltness  of  its  waters; 
and  the  land  around  the  lake,  being  equally  impregnated  with  that 
saltness,  refuses  to  produce  plants.     Hence  the  cause  of  the  dead 
appearance  that  reigns  around  "     So  also  Virgil: 
Salsa  autem  tellus.  et  quae  perhibetur  amara 
Frugibus  infelix;  ea  nee  mansuescit  arando. 
Salt  earth  and  bitter,  are  not  fit  to  sow, 
Nor  will  be  tamed  or  mended  with  the  plough. 
Agreeably  to  this  view,  proceeded  the  ancient  custom  of  sowing 
an  enemies  city  when  taken,  with  salt,  in  token  of  perpetual  desola- 
tion, Jud.  9.  -to.     This  therefore  may  be  the  very  idea  intended  by 
our  Lord;  That  the  wicked  and  apostate  should  be  salted  as  a  pre- 
sage and  sure  harbinger  of  absolute  and  eternal  destruction.     Like 
the  barren  land,  no  longer  associated  with  life  or  use,  but  abamion- 
ed  to  eternal  death  and  insensibility.     Can  we  doubt  of  this  being 


SECTION  SIXTIETH. 

Doctrine  of  Forgiveness. 

Take  heed  to  yourselves.  If  thy  brother  offend  thee, 
go  and  expostulate  with  him,  and  rebuke  him  when 
Ihou  and  he  are  alone  *  together,  and  if  he  hear  thee 
and  repent,  forgive  him,  for  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother. 

also  the  meaning  of  the  apostle,  2.  Cor.  2.  15,  l6?  We  are  of  God 
a  sweet  savour  of  Christ,  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that 
perish:  to  the  one,  the  savour  of  death  to  death,  (i.  e.  of  spiritual 
death  here,  as  the  harbinger  of  the  second  death  liereafter)  to  the 
other,  the  savour  of  life  to  life.  (i.  e.  a  savour  of  life  spiritual  as 
the  pledge  of  life  eternal.)  I  think  this  passage  from  Paul  is  per- 
fectly collateral  with  the  one  under  consideration  from  Mark,  and 
both  passages  are  contirmed  anH  illustrated  by  Heb.  6.  4—9. 

From  this  view  of  the  subject,  we  may  conceive  some  adequate 
idea  of  the  nature  of  that  salting  with  tire,  which  Christ  says  awaits 
the  apostate.  By  comparing  Gen.  14.  .3  with  Deut.  29.  23,  we  col- 
lect that  salt  was  employed  by  Jehovah,  as  well  as  sulphur  or  brim- 
stone, in  the  destruction  ot  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  This  idea  ac- 
counts for  the  preternatural  quantity  of  salt,  in  the  Asphaltic  Lake, 
and  the  conversion  of  Lot's  wife  into  a  pillar  of  salt.  Gazing  with 
a  wishful  eye  on  the  flames  of  Sodom,  she  was  overtaken  by  the 
miraculous  salso-sulphureous  shower,  which  immediately  lixed 
and  incrusted  her  body  like  a  statue. 

*  Christians  in  general  are  agreed  that  in  this  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture our  Lord  has  given  the  most  plain  and  specific  directions  for 
Church  discipline,  as  well  as  for  private  conduct  between  man  and 
his  fellow  man.  It  will  therefore  be  my  design,  to  lay  before  the 
reader  in  a  few  words,  a  brief  illustration  of  the  Christian  discip- 
line. 1.  As  it  concerns  individual  members.  2.  The  Christian 
Church  collectively.  3.  1  shall  inquire  into  the  source  of  power 
in  the  Church,  and  show  that  the  administration  of  discipline,  is 
invested  in  the  Clergy,  and  not  in  the  Christian  community. 

1.  The  conduct  of  individual  members  towards  each  other,  is 
here  very  explicitly  stated.  The  offended  must  not  complain 
publicly,  or  to  the  Church,  until  he  has  argued  the  case,  and  used 
every  expostulation  to  induce  his  fellow  Christian  to  repent  or 
make  reparation.  Gill  and  others  have  collected  many  good  say- 
ings relative  to  this  subject,  from  Jewish  writers,  of  which  take 
the  following  as  a  specimen:  "When  the  holy  and  blessed  God 
reproves  a  man,  he  does  it  in  love  privately;  if  the  man  receive 
it,  it  is  well  J  if  not,  he  reproves  him  among  his  friends;  if  he  re- 


224  DOCTTlT>TE    OF    FORGIVENESS. 

And  thouo;b  he  offends  thee  seven  times  a  day,  and  seven 
times  in  a  dqv  return,  saying:  I  repent,  thou  shalt  for- 
give him.  But  if  he  will  notrea[;ard  thee,  take  with  thee 
one  or  two;  that  hy  the  testimony  of  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses, every  declaration  may  be  established.  If  he 
despise  them,  tell  the  Church,*  and  if  he   disobey   the 

ceive  It,  it  is  well;  if  not,  hereprove<<  him  openly  before  all;  if  he 
receive  it,  it  is  well;  if  not,  he  leaves  him,  and  reoroves  him  no 
more!  \nd  this  God  does  to  show  how  men  ought  to  reprove 
their  friends."  No  individual  should  be  admitted  to  appeal  to  the 
Church,  till  he  has  o;one  through  the  two  previous  steps  of  the  pro- 
ces'<:  1.  Prhmte  expostulation.  2.  Friendly  remonstrance  in  the 
presence  of  two  or  three  Christians,  who  are  alikt^  well  dispo?>ed 
and  unprejudiced  towards  both  parties.  Nor  should  any  Christian 
go  to  law  aijainst  another,  until  the  offender  has  shown  himself  a 
rebel  against  all  individual,  social,  and  ecclesiastical  remonstrance. 
See  I  Cor.  6.  1,  5 — 8.  But  when  a  man  refuses  the  deci'^ion  of 
the  Church,  he  is  then  to  be  excluded  from  its  fellowship,  and  the 
Christian,  against  whom  he  has  offended,  may  sue  hinat  the  civil 
courts  of  his  country:  but  not  before  the  termination  of  the  pro- 
cess here  distinctly  prescribed,  by  the  Lord  and  Master  of  Chris- 
tians. 

*  In  speaking  of  the  term  Church,  it  may  be  proper  to  give  an 
accurate  definition,  and  fortify  the  minds  of  Christians  a:i;ainst 
those  loose  and  dangerous  acceptations,  which  are  at  this  day,  too 
prevalent  among  those  who  would  arrogate  to  tnemselves  the 
style  of  liberal  Christians.  We  ought  not  to  judge  of  a  term 
fr»m  an  obsolete  or  unnatural  use,  but  to  attach  to  it  that  accepta- 
tion which  has  been  established  by  the  general  consent  of  the  best 
writers,  especially  of  that  age  in  whicu  the  language  attained  its 
acme  of  purity  and  elegance.  It  is  also  improper  to  enumerate, 
in  the  definitions  of  any  term,  all  the  significations,  which  in  a  y 
age  may  have  been  ascribed  to  it,  by  any  writer  of  any  descrip- 
tion. The  W)rd  Bis  top  originally  means,  and  has  often  been 
Used  to  denote,  an  overseer,  but  for  a  long  time,  it  has  been  conse- 
crated by  general  consent,  to  designate  an  order  of  ecclesiastics. 
lu  this, and  many  similar  instances,  we  must  say  with  Horace: 
Usus  est  norma  loquendi. 

The  word  ennXm-tx  signifies  the  whole  Church  of  God  on  earth 
and  in  heaven,  or  the  whole  assembly  of  the  f'riitalul,  who  have 
been  called  out  of  the  general  mass  of  mmkind,  lo  the  protession 
®f  Christ's  religion,  and  the  enjoyment  of  eternal  lite  by  him. 
This  is  ihe  radicnl,  proper,  and  I  would  add,  the  con-ecratetl  use  of 
fhe  term.     When  Christ  delennined  to  lay  the  Ibuadalion  of  this 


DOCTRINE    OP   FORGIVENESS.  225 

Church,  let  him  be  regarded  as  a  pagan  or  tax  gatherer. 
Verily  I  say  to  you:  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth, 


Church,  he  cdUefl  TjWJTtaXtjTa*,  to  him,  whom  he  would,  Mark  9. 
IS;  and  out  ot  them  lie  chose  £icXt|«ju,£»o?,  twelve,  Luke  6.  13,  whom 
he  ordained  to  be  with  him.  The?e  are  the  two  characteristic?  of 
Christ's  Church.  The  true  members  are  called  and  chosen.  Kev. 
17  14.  From  the  da}  on  which  the  Cliurch  of  Christ  was  found- 
ed, the  apostle?,  hiding  hold  of  the  term  xaXtw,  which  answers  to 
the  Hebrew  Kara,  considered  their  important  office,  designed  for 
the  calling  of  sinners  from  the  slavery  and  bondage  of  Satan,  to 
the  light  and  liberty  of  the  children  of  God,  Acts  26,  16—19.  All 
that  obeyed  the  call  were  added  to  the  assembly,  which  constituted 
the  visible  Church  of  Christ,  Acts  2.  41,  whilst  only  such  as  were 
truly  sincere  and  faithful,  were  chosen,  ExXtxre*,  to  eternal  life, 
Matt.  22.  ]4,  Heb.  3  6,  and  constituted  the  true  stones  of  the  spir- 
itual temple.  1  Peter  2.  5 — 9,  anil  Kev.  3  12;  and  the  whole  num- 
ber of  thos-e  which  were  thus  called  and  chosen,  being  united  ia 
one  taith  and  worship,  constituted  the  EwcXno-ta,  or  Church  ot  (jud. 
Matt.  16,  18,  Col.  1    18,  Ephes.  1.  22. 

Fron)  what  has  been  said,  it  would  appear  that  the  word  Ecclesia, 
is  not  so  indefinite  as  some  have  imagined.  Campbell  on  this  pas- 
sage, pleads  for  the  use  of  the  term  in  the  same  latitude  as  the  tie- 
brew  Kahal,  the  Gieek  a-wyxytayyi,  and  the  English  word  Congrega- 
tion. In  this  sense,  the  Doctor  thinks  the  Hebrew  wor  t  was  usei.  to 
denote  the  whole  commonwealth  of  Israel,  which  is  often  called 
the  Church  of  God,  To  this  indefinite  sense,  he  seems  the  more 
inclined,  because  of  what  Lightlbot  and  others  have  observed,  that 
the  custom  of  telling  the  faults  of  impenitent  offenders  to  the  con- 
gregation, obtained  both  in  the  synagogue  and  primitive  Church. 
But  surely  in  this  account,  the  fact  that  the  whole  nation  ol  Israel 
were  considered  bound  by  covenant  to  the  true  God,  is  kept  en- 
tirely out  of  view.  The  congregation  of  the  Lord  did  not  consist 
indiscriminately  of  all  Israelites;  for  those  who  were  guilty  of  pre- 
sumptuous 8in,  or  were  stubbornly  rebellious,  were  cut  ofl'  from 
the  congregation.  Nay,  even  those  who  were  ceremonially  un- 
clean, were  prohibited  trom  being  present.  Hence  the  definition 
we  have  given  of  the  term  Church,  is  much  more  applicable  to  the 
congregation  of  Israel,  tliau  tiie  loose  and  deceptions  explanation  of 
Campbell.  It  is  ot  no  force  here,  to  call  to  remembrance,  that  a 
pijuiic  assembly,  collected  to  hear  the  admonitions  of  a  public 
speaker,  was  denominated  £X)iX>i<r»a,  by  the  Athenians,  for  tdat  use 
of  the  term  became  obsolete  among  Christians  from  the  first  age. 
Besides  aviKKm-nx,  vvas  the  proper  word  for  such  a  meeting.  And 
from  the  authors  cited  in  Leigh's  Critica  Sacra,  it  appears  that  the 
Greek  eccJesia  was  never  given  lo  any  as&embly,  unless  called  by 


226  DOCTRINE    OP   FORGIVENESS. 

shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  vtrhatsoever  ye  shall  loose 
on  the  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.     Again  I  assure 


legal  authority.  Now  this  is  all  we  plead  for  Only  let  an  assem- 
bly  meet  in  obedience  to  the  law  and  precepts  of  Jesus,  the  King  of 
Zion,  and  we  will  not  refuse  to  them  the  figurative  sense  of  the 
term  Church. 

The  definition  of  the  English  word  Church  is  still  more  particu- 
lar and  definite,  than  that  of  the  Greek  or  Hebrew  It  is  com- 
pounded of  the  two  words  iLv^iov  ojno;,  House  of  the  Lord.  Who 
they  are  that  constitute  the  House  of  the  Lord,  may  be  known  by 
consulting  2  Cor.  6.  14 — 18,  and  Heb.  3.  6.  Hence  the  word 
Church  implies  all  that  believe  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  are  the  called 
according  to  his  purpose.  But  figuratively  by  Metonymy,  the 
name  is  given  to  a  house,  used  by  the  Church  of  God  for  his  wor- 
ship: the  container  being  put  for  the  contained.  Also  by  Synech- 
doche,  which  puts  a  part  for  the  whole,  the  appellation  is  given  to 
the  pastors  alone,  Matt.  18.  17;  or  to  the  flock  alone,  Acts  20.  28; 
or  even  to  a  small  number  of  its  members  met  in  a  particular  place. 
That  this  definition  of  the  Church  is  in  accordance  with  scripture 
and  history,  none  can  doubt,  who  are  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
the  subject.  He  that  looks  into  the  books  of  Moses,  or  the  Epistles 
of  Paul,  will  be  soon  satisfied  that  Clemens  of  Alexandria  was  in 
the  right,  when  he  said,  Strom.  7:  "The  whole  assembly  of  the 
elect,  is  what  I  call  the  Church  "  The  same  thing  will  appear 
manifest  to  him  that  casts  an  eye  over  Augustine's  book,  concerning 
the  Christian  Doctrine;  where  he  will  see,  that  the  epithets  given  in 
the  holy  scriptures  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  will  never  agree  with 
the  general  character  of  mankind,  nor  with  men  at  all,  unless  con- 
sidered as  called  and  regenerated  by  the  power  and  grace  of  God. 
Let  them,  who  would  deduce  a  loose  signification  of  the  word 
i5^cc/esta  from  the  ancient  use  of  the  term  among  the  Greeks,  re- 
flect, that  even  by  them,  tiie  word  was  not  used  to  denote  a  promis- 
cuous congregation.  They  had  two  assemblies  called  Ecclesia  and 
^gora.  The  first  was  distinguished  from  the  second  as  a  Church 
from  a  common  congregation  of  people.  The  Agora  denoted  any 
assembly  or  concourse  of  people.  The  Ecclesia  signified  that 
the  congregation  was  legally  called  by  the  magistrate,  and  con- 
sisted of  a  convention  of  the  people,  called  together  according  to 
their  orders  and  classes.     See  lllyrici  Clavis  Scripturae  in  verbo. 

2.  Let  us  inquire  to  whom  Christ  has  delegated  the  power  of  the 
keys  to  open  or  shut,  receive  or  excommunicate,  bind  or  loose. 
Some  say  to  the  clergy  alone.  Others,  to  the  clergy  and  elders 
or  deacons.  And  a  third,  to  the  members  of  the  Church  indiscrim- 
inately. The  last  proposition  is  so  repugnant  to  the  whole  voice 
of  scripture  and  scriptural  example,  as  to  be  unworthy  of  the  least 
notice.     The  first  and  second  are  reconcileable.     Lightfoot  thinks, 


DOCTRINE    OF   FORGIVENESS.  227 

you,  that  if  any  two  of  you  agree  about  any  affair,  and 
ask  it  from  my  Father  in  the  highest  heaven,  it  shall  be 

that  because  two  or  three,  met  in  the  name  of  Christ,  are  acknew- 
lef'sed  in  the  context,  a  religious  assembly,  and  clothed  with  the 
power  of  binding  and  loosing,  the  word  Church  in  this  place 
means  no  more  than  a  congregation  of  faithful  Christians;  and  in 
this  he  has  followed  Jerome.  But  I  think  this  detinition  is  faulty, 
and  made  without  attention  to  the  circumstances.  The  two  or 
three  here  mentioned,  were  apostles,  and  not  merely  Christian  be- 
lievers. They  were,  therefore,  the  true  Church  representative, 
possessing  that  authority  which  was  given  to  properly  constituted 
teachers,  but  in  no  instance  to  the  members  in  general.  Chrysos- 
tom  on  the  passage  says:  Emi  to*?  Tr^oi^^ivna-i,  Tell  those  tvho preside. 
This  is  also  the  interpretation  of  Theophylac.  Thus  also  Bezaand 
Spanheim,  Dub.  Evang.  77.  It  will  not  therefore  profit  the  argu- 
ment of  Campbell  and  others,  that  the  word  Ecclesia  should  be 
foufid  sometimes  in  the  Septuagint,  as  the  translation  of  Kahal^  for 
even  in  that  place,  Ex.  4.  16,  where  Aa/ia/ is  most  loosely  translated 
Xaos,  people,  the  elders  only,  or  representatives  of  the  people, 
were  meant,  as  appears  from  Ex.  3.  16,  and  4.  29j  and  that  Kahal  fre- 
quently signifies  only  the  rulers  of  the  people  or  congregation,  has 
been  shown  by  D.  Kimchi,  an  authority  sufficiently  decisive. 
The  authority  originates  in  the  clergy,  but  there  is  nothing  contra- 
dictory in  associating  with  them  in  the  management  of  the  Church, 
deacons  or  elders,  duly  elected  and  consecrated  for  the  purpose; 
for  thus  did  our  Lord  in  the  mission  of  the  seventy,  and  thus  did 
Paul  in  his  directions  to  Timothy  and  Titus.  But  to  the  apostles 
alone  did  Christ  commit  the  authority  to  bind  and  to  loose,  to  remit 
and  retain  sins.  Matt.  16.  19,  and  IS.  17,  John  20.23.  And  that 
this  authority  was  intended  to  be  transmitted  to  all  ages  through 
their  successors,  is  clearly  manifest  from  the  Epistles  to  Timothy. 

This  subject  will  appear  more  intelligible,  and  the  argument  more 
conclusive,  from  the  following  historical  notice.  When  the  Jews 
set  any  man  apart  to  be  a  teacher  or  preacher,  they  used  this  form 
of  expression:  "take  thou  authority  to  teach  what  is  bound  and 
WHAT  IS  loose."  That  is,  to  declare  what  is  lawful,  and  what  is 
unlawful  to  be  done.  The  same  authority  which  the  Jews  invested 
in  the  Rabbis,  our  Lord  gave  to  his  disciples,  saying:  Go  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;  Whatsoever  ye 
shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven;  and  whatsoever  ye 
shall  loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  That  is,  whatever 
ye  shall  declare  meet  and  fit  to  be  believed  and  done  agreeably  to 
my  instructions  and  example,  shall  be  approved  in  heaven;  and 
whomsoever  ye  shall  receive  in  my  name  into  my  Church,  shall  be 
written  in  heaven.     All  penitents,  whom  ye  pronounce  absolved, 


22S  DOCTRINE    OP   FORGIVENESS. 

granted.     For  wherever  two  or  three  are  assembled  iu 
my  name,  there  am  f  in  the  midst  of  them  * 

Then  Peter  approaching  to  him,  said:  Master,  if  my 
brother  repeatedly  trespass  against  me,  how  often  must 
I  forgive  him?  Ought  I  as  often  as  seven  times?  Jesus 
answered:  I  say  not  to  thee  till  seven  times,  but  till  sev- 
enty  times   seven.      Therefore    the    administration    of 

shftll  be  forgiven."  On  the  contrary,  whatever  ye  shall  declare  uo- 
lawf'ul,  anrl  whatever  obstinate  otfenders  ye  pronounce  unworthy  of 
a  place  in  my  holy  C  urch  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven.  It 
is  therefore  both  false  and  deceptious  to  say:  "The  words  bind  and 
loose  are  used  only  in  a  declaratory  sense  of  thins^s,  and  not  of 
persons;''^  for  in  the  text  under  consideration,  Matt.  18.  17.  they  are 
used  of  persons,  and  not  of  things,  as  the  context  shows,  and  John 
20.  23,  makes  abundantly  manifest.  In  dealing  with  offenders,  the 
Church,  according  to  Tertullian,  Apol  C.  39,  should  obs»^rve  three 
important  degrees  of  treatment:  1.  Exhortation  2.  Rebuke.  3. 
Censure.  As  there  are  three  steps  in  the  process  of  one  inenber 
agnmst  another  before  the  matter  comes  to  be  considered  by  the 
Church,  so  there  are  three  steps  in  the  process  of  the  Church  be- 
fore public  excommunication  take  effect.  This  will  account  for 
the  number  seven  times  alluded  to  in  this  section.  Thus  the  Jews 
say:  They  m.iy  pardon  a  man  that  commits  a  sin,  the  first,  the  st' 
cond,  and  the  third  lime;  but  if  he  sin  the  fourth  time,  they  d)  not 
pardon  him,  accordmg  to  Amos  2.  6.  and  Job  33.  29  In  the  latter 
passage  the  words  rendered  of'cntimes,  should  have  been  transi  ited 
twice  or  thrice,  as  in  the  in  irgin.  The  passage  in  \mos  some  ot 
tLe  Jews  understood  to  mean,  that  tor  three  transgressions  God  would 
pardon,  but  not  for/our^  but  some  of  the  Rabbis  put  both  numbers 
together,  and  said,  seven  times. 

*  This  promise  of  Jesus  has  been  construed  as  the  most  unequiv- 
ocal testimony  for  his  omnipreseiice,  and  consequently  for  his  real 
divinity.  This  argument  rests  on  the  supposition  that  here  Jesus 
applies  to  hiiiself  the  language  of  Ex.  20.  24,  and  that  no  less  a 
person  than  the  omnipresent  God  can  encourage  men  to  perform 
religious  duties  with  an  eye  to  this  promise  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places.  But  to  this  it  has  lieen  objected,  that  the  words  should  be 
taken  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  as  a  king  is  said  to  be  present  in  all 
p.trts  of  his  dominions,  where  deputies  represent  him,  and  act  bj 
his  authority.  Thus  also  Paul  promises  the  presence  of  his  spirit, 
and  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Church  at  Connlh, 
when  they  should  meet  to  put  in  execution  the  discipline  ot  the^ 
Christian  religion  against  oflfenders,  1  Cor.  5.  4.  That  Christ 
may  be  present  with  bis  Church  in  all  places  on  the  earth,  does  not 


DOCTRINE    OF    FORGIVENESS. 


^2^ 


heaven  resembles  that  of  a  king,  who  resolved  to  settle 
accounts  with  his  servants.  Having  begun  to  reckon, 
one  was  brought  to  him  who  owed  ten  thousand  talents. 
But  not  being  able  to  pay,  his  master  commanded  him, 
and  his  wife,  and  his  children,  and  all  that  he  possessed, 
to  be  sold,  that  payment  nnight  be  made.  Then  the 
servant  falling  prostrate  before  him,  said:  0  sir,  have 
patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  the  whole.  So  the 
master  had  compassion  on  him,  and  forgave  him  the 
debt,  and  dismissed  him.*  But  as  this  servant  went 
out,  he  met  one  of  his  fellow-servants,  who  owed  him 
an  hundred  denaries,  and  seizing  him  by  the  throat,  he 
said:  Pay  me  what  thou  owest.  His  fellow-servant, 
prostrating  himself,  besought  him,  saying:  Have  pa- 
tience with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee.  And  he  would  not, 
but  caused  liim  to  be  imprisoned,  till  he  should  discharge 
the  debt.  His  fellow-servants,  seeing  what  had  happen- 
ed, were  exceedingly  sorry;  and  went  and  told  their 
master  all  that  had  passed.  Then  his  master  having 
called  him,  said:  Wicked  servant,  at  thy  request  I  for- 
gave thee  all  that  debt,  oughtest  thou  not  to  have  sho  >v- 
ed  such  pity  to  thy  fellow  servant,  as  I  showed  to  thee.'' 
And  his  master,  being  provoked,  delivered  him  to  the 
tormentors  f  until  payment  should  be  made  for  the  whole 

imply  omnipresence;  and  nothing  more  may  be  implied  than  his- 
knowing  and  approving  what  is  done  in  his  name  and  by  his  author- 
ity. The  Jews  say,  wherever  ten  men  sit  and  study  in^the  law,  the 
Shechina  dwells  among  them,  Ps.  82.  1;  but  if  even  two  sit  to- 
gether, and  the  words  of  the  law  are  between  them,  there  also  the 
Shechina  dwells  amongst  them,  Walt.  3.  16.  God  acts  every  where, 
but  his  physical  omnipresence  has  never  been  proved, 

*  We  learn  from  this  parable,  in  the  fiist  place,  that  forgiveness, 
on  the  part  of  God,  is  properly  and  absolutely  free.  The  servant 
acknowledges  his  debt,  and  ;  romises  payment,  but  his  master  seeing 
his  good  intentions  and  inability,  had  compassion  upon  him,  and  for- 
gave him  the  debt. 

t  The  word  in  the  original  is  rendered  jailors  by  some,  but  the 
common  translation  is  nearer  the  Greek,  and  conveys  a  more  accu- 
rate meaning  than  jailors,  for  there  is  here  au  allustua  to  the  Asiatic 

SO 


2S0  DOCTRINE    OF    FORGIVENESS. 

debt  *     Thus  shall  my  heavenly  Father  do  to  you,  if 
from  the  heart  ye  forgive  not  every  one  his  brother. 

Custom  of  examining  by  torture  persons  suspected  of  fraud.  The 
practice  of  whippina:  and  tormenting  debtors  continued  till  the  time 
of  Constantme  the  Great,  by  whom  it  was  abrogated.  Grotius  on 
2  K'ngs  4.  1,  proves  from  Plutarch  and  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassa, 
that  children  were  often  sold  for  the  debts  of  their  parents  at  Rome, 
Athens,  and  in  Asia.  That  the  Jews  sold  men  and  their  famihes 
for  debt,  see  confirmed  by  Ex.  22.  3,  Lev.  '26.  39,  47,  and  2  Kir.ga 
4.  I.  This  man  owed  the  enormous  sum  of  ten  thousand  taienis, 
or  four  and  a  half  millions  sterling,  or  if  the  gold  talent  he  meant 
the  still  greater  sum  of  sixty-seven  and  a  half  millions,  and  though 
his  lord  remitted  the  sentence  to  sell  him  and  his  family,  he  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  seize  and  imprison  a  fellow  servant  for  the 
small  sum  of  an  hundred  denaries,  which  amounted  to  about  three 
guineas.  Therefore  the  whole  rigour  of  the  law  is  executed  on 
him,  and  he  can  have  no  release  till  he  discharge  the  whole  debt. 
From  this  passage  and  Matt.  5.  25,  the  Catholics  deduce  the  doc- 
trine of  Purgatory,  in  which  men  that  have  not  sinned  mortally,  but 
yet  have  not  been  fully  forgiven,  in  this  life  may  expiate  their  t^ins 
by  sufferings.  Such  were  the  opinions  of  Origen,  Jerome,  Hibiry 
and  Ambrose;  and  against  their  opinion  there  is  no  certain  evi- 
dence from  scripture. 

*  The  second  thing  that  we  learn  from  this  parable  is,  that  the 
pardon  of  sin  is  always  conditional.  Though  this  debtor  is  said  to 
have  been  forgiven,  and  his  debt  to  have  been  discharged;  yet,  on 
the  discovery  of  his  inhumanity,  and  unrelenting  temper  towards 
his  fellow  servant,  he  is  charged  with  it  again.  In  like  manner 
God's  final  treatment  of  us  will  depend  upon  the  tem.per  and  dispo- 
tion  that  we  shew,  not  any  particular  time,  but  to  the  close  of  our 
'  lives;  and  no  particular  sin  is  ever  fully  pardoned  till  the  general 
tenor  of  a  man's  conduct  shall  show,  that  he  is  deserving  of  the  di- 
vine favour. 


SECTION  SIXTY  FIRST. 

Jesus  takes  final  leave  of  Galilee. 

Now  the  Jewish  feast  of  Tabernacles  being  near,  the 
brethren  of  Jesus  said  to  him:  Leave  this  country  and 
go  inio  Judea,  that  thy  disciples  may  also  see  the  works 
which  thou  doest,   for   whoever  seeks  renown,   does 


JESUS  TAKES  FINAL  LEAVE  OF  GALILEE.  231 

nothing  in  secret;  since  thou  doest  these  things,  show 
th\self  openly  to  the  world,  for  even  the  brethren*  of 
Je-ms,  did  not  believe  in  him.  Jesus  answered;  Any 
time  will  suit  you,  but  ray  time  is  not  yet  come.  The 
world  cannot  hate  you,  but  it  hates  me,  because  I  testify 
that  its  actions  are  sinful.  Go  ye  to  this  festival:  I  am 
not  going  up  at  present  to  the  festival,  because  my  time 
is  not  yet  fully  come.  Having  so  said,  he  remained  in 
Galilee. 

On  the  same  day  some  of  the  Pharisees  came  to  him 
ani  said:  Get  away,  depart  from  this  place,  for  51erod  in- 
tends to  kill  thee.  He  answered:  Go  tellf  that  fox:  To- 
day and  to-morrow,  I  expel  demons,  and  perform  cures, 
and  on  the  third  day  my  course  shall  be  completed.   But 

*  This  must  be  understood  in  a  limited  sense,  to  signify  only 
some  of  Christ's  brethren,  for  three  of  them  were  his  disciples. 
The  rest  though  all  converted  to  the  faith  after ^vards,  .^cts  1  14, 
were  perhaps  yet  worldly-minded  and  wished  to  urge  Jesus  to 
measures  that  might  at  once  determine  his  claims  to  the  Messiah's 
kingdom.  Before  the  mission  of  the  twelve,  when  the  Pharisees 
began  to  blaspheme  and  the  crowds  to  become  exceedingly  great, 
they  went  out  to  seize  him,  saying:  He  is  beside  himself,  Mark 
3.  21.  Now  they  are  wearied  with  his  company  in  Galilee,  be- 
cause he  had  become  unpopular  with  the  rulers,  and  Pharisees, 
and  they  <loubting  whether  he  were  the  Messiah,  entreated  him  to 
go  into  Judea,  and  there  show  his  miracles  to  those  who  had  be- 
come disciples  in  that  country.  Moreover  they  might  have 
supposed,  tiiat  as  the  great  Festival  was  near,  there  won  id  be  t;ie 
most  favourable  opportunity  for  him  to  make  proselytes,  or  an- 
nounce his  right  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  David.  Jesus  replies  tiiat 
his  business  in  Galilee  prevented  compliance  with  their  request, 
and  that  the  reason  of  the  unfriendly  feeling  towards  him,  was 
not  on  account  of  any  fault  in  his  conduct,  but  because  of  liis  fi- 
delity, in  reproving  the  sins  of  mankind. 

t  tiere  Jesus  speaks  with  dignified  contempt  of  the  malevolent 
and  wicked  intentions  of  (ierod,  and  gives  orders  to  inform  this 
wicked  prince,  that  the  business  of  his  ministry  required  nun  to 
rem.iin  two  or  tliree  days  longer  in  Galilee;  and  that  sooner,  he 
would  not  depart.  Though  Herod's  intentions  might  be  most 
hostile,  yet  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  put  a  prophet  to  death  >vith- 
oui  tiie  consent  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and  conseqiently,  if  arrested, 
he  .oust  be  sent  to  Jerusalem  fir  trial.  Tnis  me.ssage  therefore 
amounted  to  a  defiance  of  Herod's  authority. 


2S2  JESUS  TAKES  FINAL  LEAVE  OP  GALILEE. 

I  must  walk  about  to-day  and  to-morrow  in  the  neigh- 
bouring confines,  for  no  prophet  can  be  legally  put  to 
death  out  of  Jerusalem. 

Tijen  he  began  to  reproach  the  cities,  wherein  most 
of  his  mighty  works  had  been  performed,  because  they 
did  not  repent.  Alas',  for  thee  Ghorazin,  Alas!  for  thee 
Bethsaida;  for  if  the  mighty  works  which  have  been 
done  in  you,  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they 
would  have  repented  long  ago,  sitting  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes.  Know,  therefore,  that  it  will  be  more  tolerable 
for  Tyre  and  Sidon  in  a  day  of  judgment  than  for  you. 
And  thou  Capernaum,  which  hast  been  exalted  to 
Heaven,  shall  be  brought  down  to  Hell;  for  if  the 
mighty  works,  that  have  been  done  in  thee,  had  been 
performed  among  the  Sodomites,  they  would  have  re- 
mained till  this  day.  Know  therefore  that  the  condi- 
tion of  Sodom  shall  be  more  tolerable*  than  thine,  in  a 
day  of  judgment. 

*Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  were  towns  situated  to  the  north  of 
the  sea  of  Galilee,  the  first  on  the  west  and  the  latter  on  the  east 
of  the  Jordan.  They  had  witnessed  Christ's  miracles  and  heard 
his  preaching,  but  did  not  improve  their  exalted  privileges.  There- 
fore, Jesus  predicts  that  their  condemnation  at  a  day  of  Judgment 
would  be  greater  than  that  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  whose  inhabitants 
were  heathens,  and  had  never  heard  the  gospel,  nor  beheld  the 
miracles  uhich  Jesus  wrought  in  confirmation  of  its  divine  origin. 
He  likewise  foretells  that  Capernaum  should  be  utterly  destroyed. 
Some  commentators,  probably  on  account  of  the  similarity  of  their 
own  case,  would  exonerate  all  these  cities  from  any  accountabili- 
ty to  a  future  tribunal.  They  tell  us  that  the  denunciation  of 
Jesus  only  meant  the  temporal  calamities  and  political  and  com- 
mercial desolation,  that  befell  these  cities;  and  that  the  punish- 
ment executed  on  Capernaum  was  more  severe  than  that  inflicted 
on  Sodom  for  refusing  to  obey  the  preaching  of  Lot.  But  ali  such 
comments  are  as  much  opposed  to  the  common  sense  of  mankind, 
as  to  the  plain  grammatical  construction  of  the  passage.  Though 
the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  nation  be  called  the  day  of  ven- 
geance, it  is  not  called  the  day  of  judgment.  Nor  does  the  sen- 
tence read:  It  vas  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  in  a  day  of  judg- 
ment—  but  Era*,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom,  in  a  day  of 
judgment — pluinly   showing  that  the  time  of  judgment  was  then 


JESUS  TAKES  PINAL  LEAVE  OF  GALILEE.  233 

When  Jesus  had  finished  these  discourses,  the  days 
for  his  departure  being  accomplished,  he  set  out  reso- 
lutely to  go  to  Jerusalem.  And  leaving  Galilee,  he 
taught  in  the  towns  and  villages  through  which  he  pass- 
ed, in  his  journey,  till  he  came  to  the  borders  of  Judea, 
on  the  Jordan,  to  which  place  great  multitudes  followed 
him,  and  he  healed  their  sick. 

ftifure  for  Sodom,  as  well  as  for  Capernaum.  Luke  marks  this 
still  m6re  particularly  by  the  use  of  the  article  and  pronoun,  in 
that  same  day  in  the  judgment.  Moreover  though  Clinst  admits 
here,  as  elsewhere,  that  the  servant  that  knew  not  his  master's 
will  and  did  things  worthy  of  punishment,  shall  be  beaten  with 
fewer  stripes,  than  those  which  shall  be  inflicted  on  persons  to 
whom  greater  opportunities  were  afforded,  yet  it  is  manifest  from 
the  use  of  the  comparative  degree  of  the  adjective,  that  the  inhab- 
itants of  all  these  cities  shall  be  doomed  to  punishment,  in  the  day 
of  God's  righteous  judgment — Thus  as  Paul  informs  the  Romans, 
that  the  heathen  having  sinned  without  a  law,  shall  perish  with- 
out the  law,  Rom.  2.  12,  whilst  as  Jesus  here  declares,  those  who 
have  enjoyed  the  means  of  salvation,  but  neglected  them,  shall  be 
sentenced  to  severer  torments  in  a  future  world,  than  the  heathen, 
in  proportion  to  their  neglect  or  contempt  of  these  means — Here 
theref.ire  we  learn,  tliat  there  will  be  great  diversity  in  the  pun- 
ishments of  Hell,  though  the  smallest  degree  may  be  to  us  incon- 
ceivably great. 


SECTION  SIXTY-SECOND. 

Mission  of  the  Seventy-two. 

Afterwards*  the  Lord  appointed  also   Seventy-twof 

*  Dr.  Lightfoot  endeavours  to  prove,  that  our  Lord  commis- 
sioned the  Seventy  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  to  keep  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles,  but  not  till  he  had  passed  the  confines  of  Galilee. 
In  this  I  have  followed  him  from  conviction,  that  his  arrangement, 
in  this  particular,  is  correct.  Newcorae  remarks,  that  the  learn- 
ed Dr.  Priestley  has  ingeniously  suggested,  that  the  mission  of 
the  Seventy  took  place  shortly  before  the  feast  of  Tabernacles; 
and  that  our  Lord  dismissed  his  train  with  a  view  to  travel,  with 
less  appearance  of  ostentation.  See  John  7. 10. 

1 1  have  added  the  word  tioo,  on  the  following  authorities.     It  is 


234  MISSION  OP  THE  SEVENTY-TWO. 

other  disciples^  and  sent  them  before  him,  two  and  two 

found  in  the  text  of  the  Vatican,  Cambridge,  and  some  other  MSS. 
and  in  the  Persic,  Armenian,  and  Vulgate  Versions;  and  it  is  sup- 
ported by  Clemens,  Origen,  Epiphanius,  Hilary,  Augustine,  Isi- 
dore, and  others,  among  the  Fathers.  I  acknowledge  the  opinion 
of  Lightfuot  and  Selden  to  be  of  high  authority  in  Jewish  affairs, 
but  even  they  admit  that  the  Jewish  Sanhedrin  consisted  of  Seven- 
ty and  the  President;  but  1  think  the  arguments  of  Grotius  con- 
clusive for  the  Seventy-two.  The  Sanhedrin  would  seem  to  have 
consisted  at  first  of  only  Seventy  Elders  and  Moses,  Num.  11. 
16.  but  besides  these,  there  was  a  sub-president,  called  Ab,  or 
Father  of  the  Council.  It  appears  that  Moses  directed,  that  six 
should  be  chosen  from  each  of  the  tribes,  to  assist  him  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  people,  but  as  he  and  Aaron  were  probably  in- 
cluded in  the  six  from  the  tribe  of  Levi,  the  other  members  just 
amounted  to  Seventy.  So  in  the  times  of  our  Lord  the  Sanhe- 
drin consisted  of  Seventy  members,  an  Ab,  or  father  of  the 
Council,  and  the  High  Priest,  who  presided  over  them.  They 
were  commonly  named  Seventy,  either  because  of  the  conve- 
nience of  using  an  even  number;  or  from  the  Jewish  veneration 
for  the  terms  seven  and  seventy,  which  did  not  always  sigiiify  so 
many  units;  or  probably  from  a  desire  to  keep  in  remembrance, 
that  their  nation  consisted  of  only  seventy  persons,  when  they 
went  down  into  Egypt.  Gen.  46.  27,  Deut.  10.  32.  For  some 
similar  reason,  the  Greek  Version,  has  been  called  the  Seventy, 
or  Septuagint,  though  Josephus,  Antiq.  L.  12.  C.  2,  says  the 
Translators  consisted  of  Six  out  of  every  tribe;  and  consequently 
amounted  to  Seventy-two. 

Our  Lord  proceeded  in  the  forming  of  the  Christian  Church,  on 
the  model  of  the  Jewish,  because  it  was  the  pattern  which  he  him- 
self had  given  of  the  heavenly  substance,  which  he  now  began  to 
establish;  for  he  had  been  the  guide  of  the  Patriarchal  and  Jewish 
Churches,  and  the  religious  legislator  of  mankiniJ,  in  every  age 
from  Adam  till  his  incarnation.  As  he  had  chosen  twelve  apos- 
tles, in  reference  to  the  twelve  patriarchs,  who  were  chiefs  of  the 
twelve  tribes,  he  now  appointed  Seventy,  in  allusion  to  the  Seven- 
ty elders,  chosen  by  Moses  to  assist  in  the  government  of  the  peo- 
ple. Here  then  are  the  two  orders  of  the  Christian  Ministry 
spoken  of  by  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccles.  L.  1.  C.  12,  which  our  Lord 
has  established  in  the  New  Testament  dispensation,  designated 
by  tiie  names  of  Bishops  and  Elders,  or  as  some  would  call  them 
Ministers  and  Elders,  or  Pastors  slhA  Deacons.  Though  from  the 
writings  of  the  Apostles  and  Apostolic  Fathers,  the  word  Presby- 
ter was  olten  designaiive  of  either  office.  Acts  20  17,  28;  Titus  1. 
5,  7;  and  consequently  all  Bisliops  were  Presbyters,  yet  it  does 
not  follow  that  all  called  Presbyters  or  Elders,  were  Bishops, 


MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY-TWO.  235 

into  every  city  and  place,  whither  he  was  about  to  come, 

1  Tim.  6.  17.  Hence  Jerome,  who  admits  the  word  Presbyter  to 
be  sometimes  synonymous  with  Bishop,  calls  the  Sevt-nty,  preach- 
ers of  the  second  order.  See  Whitby  on  Luke  10.  1.  Chrysos- 
tom  and  others,  placed  the  superiority  of  Bishops  over  Elders,  in 
the  power  of  ordination^  which  belongs  to  Bishops  alone;  for  the 
power  of  conferring  the  holy  spirit  by  laying  on  the  hands,  was 
given  to  none  but  the  twelve.  See  Acts  8.  15,  and  Whitby's  note 
there.  This  then  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  first  order  of  Ecclesi- 
astics, to  whom  alone  the  power  of  ordination  belongs,  as  to  the 
successors  of  the  Apostles.  Nor  can  any  ordination  be  valid, 
that  cannot  be  traced  through  regular  succession  to  the  Apostles 
of  Jesus. 

There  are  four  plans  of  Church  Government,  prevalent  among 
Christians  of  the  present  age:  Papacy,  Episcopacy,  Prenbyferian- 
ism,  and  Independency.  The  first  and  last  of  these  are  pernicious 
extravagancies,  to  which  the  word  of  God  gives  no  sanction,  and  of 
which  ecclesiastical  history  affords  no  analogy  till  the  sixth  and  the 
sixteenth  centuries.  The  one  is  tyrannical  usurpation,  the  other  a 
mongrel  libertinism.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  say,  which  of  these  un- 
hallowed foes  to  truth  and  religion,  has  been  most  injurious  to 
the  church  of  God,  and  the  progress  of  Christianity.  Though  the 
Lord  of  Christians  gave  to  Peter  the  Keys  of  his  kingdom  Matt. 
16.  19,  it  is  manifest  that  the  like  power  was  given  to  all  thr  Apos- 
tles, Matt.  18.  18;  John  20.  23,  And  that  the  Apostles  believed 
their  equality,  is  manifest  from  their  occasional  debates  on  eccle- 
siastical subjects.  Acts  15.  2,  7,  and  Gal.  2.  11.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  selection  of  one  tribe  in  Israel,  and  the  ordination  of 
Aposties  and  Klders  by  Jesus,  was  altogether  unnecessary  and 
imprnper,  if  every  person  of  every  description,  even  the  vilest 
an<i  mt>st  ignorant  of  the  people,  may  at  will,  intrude  on  the  sacred 
office,  and  devastate  the  Church  of  God. 

To  Episcopacy  or  Presbyterianism,  or  perhaps  to  some  inter- 
mediate rank,  we  are  to  look  for  that  order  of  Ecclesiastical  Gov- 
ernment, that  can  fairly  lay  claim  to  a  Divine  Right.  The  two 
orders  of  Presbyter  and  Beacon,  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  seem  to 
approach  more  nearly  the  primitive  state  of  things  in  the  Apos- 
tolic age.  Perhaps  nothing  more  was  intended  by  Epiphanius, 
when  he  said:  There  cannot  be  a  Bishop  without  Deacons;  and 
again  speaking  of  the  Samaritans,  who  had  believed,  he  says: 
Philip  being  only  a  Beacon  could  not  ordain^  and  therefore  the 
apostles  were  sent  to  Samaria  for  this  purpose.  See  Acts  8.  14— 
17,  and  Epiph.  Heres.  21.  Sect.  1.  The  like  distinction  nearly 
exists  between  the  Ministers  and  Licentiates  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Surely  nothing  inconsistent  with  God's  word,  and 
Christian  privilege,  could  arise  from  the  appointment  of  an  order 


2S6  MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY-TWO. 

And  lie  said  to  them:  Go,  say  to  the  people:  The  reign 
of  God,  over  you,  is  come  * 

Let  your  loins  be  girt,  and  your  lamps  burning;  and 
yourselves  like  those  who  wait  their  master's  return  from 
a  wedding;  that  when  he  comes  and  knocks  they  may 
open  to  him  immediately,  ilappy  shall  those  servants 
be,  whom  their  master,  at  his  return,  shall  find  watch- 
ing;. Verily  I  say  to  you:  He  will  girdf  himself,  and 
having  placed  tiiem  at  table,  he  will  attend  and  serve 
them.     Take  heed,  watch,  and  pray,  at  all  seasons;  for 

of  Clergy,  of  advanced  age,  and  distinguished  by  learning  and 
piety,  to  preside  in  their  several  districts,  over  their  juni-tr  breth- 
ren, and  others  of  less  capacity,  literature,  and  reputation.  Nay 
such  an  arrangement  would  be  the  spirit  of  the  Apostolic  age  and 
the  Christian  liberty.  There  seems  to  be  an  approach  to  this  order 
of  'hings  in  the  Consistories  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  France, 
where  the  president  is  chosen  for  life. 

*  It  appears  by  a  comparison  of  the  tenth  chapter  of  Matthew 
with  the  tenth  of  Luke,  that  our  Lord  repeated  here;  a  considera- 
ble part  of  his  discourse  at  the  Mission  of  the  Twelve.  Wishing 
to  avoid  repetitions  in  this  work,  the  reader  will  find  whatever  is 
omitted  here,  in  the  thirty  third  Section,  whither  he  is  referred. 

t  The  allusion  is  made  to  the  long  girments  worn  by  the  Eas- 
tern nations,  which  were  bound  round  their  loins  with  belts,  and 
tucked  up  in  the  belt  when  they  travelled  or  served  at  table.  The 
succinctus  honpes,  and  puer  alte  ductus  of  Horace  are  proofs,  that 
this  usage  prevailed  at  Rome;  and  that  it  existed  among  the  Jews 
appears  from  Luke  17.  8,  John  13.  4,  5.  The  mention  of  lamps 
or  lights  is  also  in  reference  to  the  custom  of  carrying  torches  or 
lamps  at  weddings,  which  were  generally  celebrated  in  the  night 
season.  The  meining  of  our  Lord  is,  that  his  ministers  should  al- 
ways be  prepared  for  the  performance  of  their  office;  that  they 
should  be  diligent  in  keeping  all  hindrances  out  of  the  way,  and 
have  their  minds  full  of  light,  concerning  all  subjects  of  inq^iiry 
and  practical  use  in  the  Christian  life.  A  slothful,  ignorant,  and 
careless  minister,  is  a  disgrace  and  curse  to  the  holy  office. 
Christ  here  promises,  that  those  who  serve  him  with  zeal,  perse- 
verance, and  resolution  in  his  church  on  earth,  shall  sit  down  at 
the  table  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  there  be  served  by  their 
Lord  and  Master.  Who  would  not  like  Moses  choose  affliction, 
with  the  people  of  God,  and  even  refuse  an  earthly  crown,  were 
it  to  interfere  with  their  duty,  in  order  to  secure  the  approbation 
of  their  Lord,  and  be  exalted  to  sit  at  the  table  and  banquet  of 
the  king  of  Heaven? 


MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY-TWO.  237 

ye  know  not  at  what  hour  your  master  will  come.  Of 
this  you  are  certain,  That  if  the  master  of  a  family  knew, 
at  what  hour  the  thief  would  come,  he  would  watch,  and 
not  suffer  him  to  break  into  his  house.  Therefore  be 
ye  always  prepared,  lest  the  Son  of  man  come  at  an  hour, 
when  ye  arenot  expectinj;  him* 

Then  Peter  said  to  him;  Master  is  this  parable  in- 
tended for  us,  or  for  all.?  The  Lord  answered:  As  a 
man  going;  from  home,  leaves  his  household  in  charge 
to  his  servants,  assigns  to  every  one  his  work,  and  com- 
mands the  porter  to  watch,  so  watch  ye ;  for  ye  know 
not,  whether  the  master  of  the  family  will  return  at  the 
second  watch,  or  at  midnight,  or  at  the  third  watch,  or 
in  the  morning:  lest  coming  suddenly,  he  find  you  sleep- 
ing.    Now,  what  I  say  to  you,  1  say  to  all,  Watch. f 

*  'I'he  coming  of  Christ  here  noticed,  was  not  his  coming  to  de- 
stroy the  Jewish  temple  and  nation,  nor  his  coming  to  judge  the 
world  at  the  end  of  time;  but  as  in  the  Old  Testament,  remarka- 
bie  events  are  often  described  as  comings,  or  signal  interpositions 
of  the  Deity,  Deut.  33.  2,  Is.  35.4,  Heb.  3.  3,  so  in  many  places 
of  the  New  Testament,  our  Lord's  coming  coincides  with  the 
time  of  a  man's  death.  For  as  our  Christian  course  enls  when 
we  die,  our  Lord  is  represented  in  several  parts  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, as-  coming  at  the  end  of  our  life,  to  save  and  redeem  us 
from  death,  and  receive  our  souls  to  himself  that  where  he  is^ 
there  his  servants  inay  be  also.  See  John  14.  3,  1  Cor.  11.  27, 
Philip  1.  6,  10,  1  Thess.  3.  13,  and  5.  23,  2  Tim.  4.  7.  8.  The 
fitness  of  the  comparisons  here  introduced,  depends  on  the  truth 
of  this  opinion.  Moreover  this  interpretati(tn  is  strengthened  by 
the  consideration,  that  we  are  never  in  the  New  Testament,  ex- 
horted to  prepare  for  death,  but  for  the  coming  of  Christ;  there- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ  must  be  at  the  time  of  a  man's  death. 
This  is  the  hour  of  judgment  to  all  who  have  had  the  means  of 
knowing  their  Master's  will.  Therefore  this  important  truth  is 
of  great  weight  in  the  Christian  Religion,  and  is  worthy  of  our  most 
serious  consideration. 

t  Anciently  the  Jews  divided  the  night  into  three  watches  con- 
sisting of  four  hours  each,  Ex.  14,  24,  Judges  7.  19,  Lam.  2.  19; 
but  ihe  Romans  introduced  into  Judea  the  custom  of  dividing  the 
day,  into  twelve  hours  of  day  and  twelve  of  night,  and  the  night 
into  Jour  watchts:  The  fint  began  at  six  in  the  evening  and  con- 


238  MISSION  OP   THE   SEVENTY-TWO. 

Who  then  is  that  faithful  and  prudent  steward  *  whom 
his  master  will  appoint  over  his  household,  to  dispense 
to  each  his  food  in  season?  Happy  that  servant,  whona 
his  master  at  his  coming,  shall  find  thus  employed. 
Verily  I  say  to  you:  He  will  entrust  to  him  the  manage- 
ment of  all  his  estate.  But  should  a  vicious  servant  say 
in  his  heart:  My  master  delays  his  return,  and  b^gin  to 
beat  his  fellow-servants,  and  to  eat  and  oarouse  with 
drunkards,  the  master  of  that  servant,  will  come  on  a 
dav  when  he  is  not  expecting  him,  and  at  an  hour  of  which 
he  is  not  aware,  and  having  discarded  him,  will   assign 

tinned  to  nine;  the  second  at  nine  and  continued  to  midnis^ht; 
the  third  be2,an  at  midnight  and  continued  to  three,  or  to  cock- 
crow; the  fourth  began  at  three  and  continueil  till  six  or  sunrise. 
The  reason  of  our  Lord  for  uttering  this  parable  was  two-fold. 
First  to  impress  on  the  minds  ot  his  disciples  the  necessity  of 
taking  heed  to  themselves,  and  to  the  people  of  their  charge,  that 
they  might  be  ready  at  all  times  to  give  account  of  their  steward- 
ship. Second,  that  he  might  stir  up  their  minds  to  all  diligence, 
seeing  the  time  was  short,  he  having  only  a  few  months  to  remain 
with  them.  Indeed  it  is  not  improbable,  seeing  we  are  informed 
that  his  heavenly  Father  concealed  from  him  the  time  he  had  fix- 
ed tor  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  nation,  that  he  had  also  con- 
cealed the  time  in  which  it  behoved  Jesus  to  suifer.  Hence  being 
apprehensive  that  he  might  be  killed  at  the  testival  to  which  they 
•were  now  going,  he  had  used  all  diligence  to  complete  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  disciples.  See  Mark  13.  32,  and  the  beginning  of  Sec- 
tion fifty-seventh. 

*  All  should  live  in  the  same  expectation  of  the  coming  of  Christ, 
which  a  servant  has  with  respect  to  the  return  of  his  master,  who, 
in  departing  for  a  season  leaves  the  management  of  his  affairs  to 
him;  and  of  which  management  he  is  to  give  an  exact  account  on  his 
master's  return. 

Here  is  an  abstract  of  the  duties  of  a  minister  of  Christ.  1  He 
is  appointed  not  by  himself,  but  by  the  vocation  and  mission  of  hii 
onaster.  2.  He  mu-^t  look  on  himself  not  as  the  master  of  the  fam- 
ily, but  as  the  servant.  3,  He  must  be  scrupulously  faithful  and 
exact,  in  fulfilling  the  commands  of  his  master.  4.  His  fidelity 
must  be  ever  accompanied  by  wisdom,  and  prudence.  5.  He  must 
give  the  domestics — the  sacred  family,  their  food;  and  this  food 
must  be  such  as  to  afford  them  true  nourishment.  And  6.  This 
must  be  done  in  its  season.  1  here  are  certain  portions  of  the 
bivrtd  !>f  life,  which  lose  their  effect  by  being  administered  out  of 
proper  season,  or  to  improper  persons. 


MISSION  OF   THE    SEVENTY-TWO.  239 

him,  a  portion  with  the  hypocrite  and  the  infidel.  Weep- 
in^  and  jijnashing  of  teeth  shall  be  there  *  Now  that  ser- 
vatit  who  knew  not  his  master's  will,  and  did  things 
deserving  of  punishment,  shall  be  beaten  with  few 
stripes;!  whereas  he,  who  knew  his  master's  will,  but  did 
not  prepare  for  him,  nor  execute  his  orders,  shall  receive 
many  stripes.  Because  from  every  one  to  whom  much 
is  jiiven,  much  will  be  required;  and  where  much  is  en- 
trusted to  a  man,  from  him  the  more  will  be  demanded. 

*  Here  is  the  contrast  of  a  faithful  steward,  and  the  abstract  of 
an  unfaithful  a. id  froward  minister.  I  He  has  little  faith  in  the 
speedy  comins;  of  his  Master,  either  to  save  o'  punish,  and  as  his 
faith  fails  he  loses  interest  in  his  duties.  2  He  becomes  turbulent 
and  oppressive,  vain  and  haughty.  3  He  loses  attachment  to  de- 
votion, and  pious  company;  and  seeks  the  gratification  of  his  flesh- 
ly appetites,  and  the  company  and  table  of  the  rich,  till  his  soul  is 
coiTupred  and  his  life  becomes  irregular.  4  He  prefer*  the  com- 
pany of  the  ung'idly  to  the  religious  meetings  and  conversation  of 
the  pious.  5.  He  is  discarded  and  abandoned  by  his  Vlaster,  on 
account  of  unfaithfulness:  and  thus  excluded  from  any  farther  op- 
portunity of  fellowship  with  the  people  of  God,  or  the  enjoyment 
of  those  nieans  that  might  recover  his  ruined  reputation  or  save 
his  degenerate  soul.  6  .Suddenly  he  dies  without  prepara^on, 
and  is  consigned  to  the  double  damnation  allotted  to  the  hypo- 
crite and  infidel.  God  of  Salvation!  what  an  awtul,  responsible, 
and  fearful  office  is  that  of  a  minister.  This  man  ceased  to  cul- 
tivate holy  communion  with  the  better  part  of  his  congregation, 
aii'l  now  he  is  condemned,  in  company  with  the  profane  and  worth- 
less pari,  to  remediless  ruin,  and  everlasting  destruction  from  the 
presence  of  God,  heaven, and  the  blessed. 

t  Many  have  thought  that  their  ignorance  of  divine  things  vyould 
be  a  sufficient  excuse  for  their  crimes;  and  that  they  might  have 
but  few  stripes,  they  voluntarily  continued  ir«  ignorance.  But 
such  persons  should  know  that  God  will  judge  them  f>r  the  knowl- 
edge they  might  have  received,  but  refused  to  acquire.  No  ccim- 
inal  is  excused,  because  he  has  been  ignorant  of  the  la  as  o!  his 
country,  and  so  transgressed  them,  when  it  can  be  proved  tliat 
those  very  laws  have  been  publshed  throughout  the  land.  Vluch 
knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing,  if  it  be  not  improved;  as  this  vill 
greatly  aggravate  the  condemnation  of  its  jjossessor.  Nor  ..ill 
it  avail  a  person,  in  tlie  land  of  light  and  inf  >rmatioa,  to  be  igno- 
rant, as  he  shall  be  judged  for  what  he  ,mght  liave  known;  a!i<l, 
perhaps  in  this  case,  t.ie  punishment  of  tiiis  voluatirily  ignorant 
man  will  be  even  greater  than  that  of  the  mare  enlightened;  ue- 


SECTION  SIXTY-THIRD. 

Feast  op  Tabernacles. 

Now  after  his  brethren  were  gone,  Jesus  also  went 
to  the  festival,*  not  publicly  but  rather  privately.  Then 
the  Jews  sought  him  at  the  festival,  saying;:  Where  is 
he?  And  there  was  much  disputation  among  the  peo- 
ple concerning  him.     For  some  said:  He  is  a  good  man. 

cause  his  crimes  are  aggravated  by  this  consideration,  that  he  re- 
fused to  have  the  lij^ht.  thit  he  might  neither  be  obliged  to  walk 
in  the  light,  nor  account  for  the  possession  of  it.  So  we  find  that 
the  plea  of  ignorance  is  a  m^re  refuge  of  lies,  and  none  can  plead 
it  who  has  the  book  of  God  within  his  reach;  and  lives  in  a  coun- 
try blessed  with  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

*  The  feHSt  of  fabernacles  commenced  on  the  fifteerth  of 
Tishri,  answering  to  the  first  of  October,  and  continued  during 
eight  days.  It  was  instituted  to  commemorate  the  journey  of  the 
Israelites  through  the  Arabian  wilderness;  and  therefore  the  Jews 
dwelt  in  tents  or  booths,  erected  in  public  places,  on  the  flat- 
roofs  of  their  houses,  or  in  gardens,  during  the  festival,  as  their 
ancestors  did  in  their  journey  from  Egypt,  Lev.  23.42,  43.  It 
was  also  intended  as  a  festival  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the 
fruits  of  the  vintage,  which  were  collected  about  this  season  of 
the  year,  and  was  therefore  called  the  feast  of  the  gatlierings,  Ex. 
23.  16  and  34.  22. 

The  next  distingu'shing  characteristic  of  this  festival  after 
dwelling  in  tents,  was  the  carrying  about  of  branches  of 
palm,  willow,  myrtle,  and  citron  trees,  tied  with  gold  or  silver 
cords,  or  ribands,  which  they  kept  with  them  continually  during 
the  festival,  and  bare  as  they  walked  in  procession  every  day 
round  the  altar,  in  the  temple,  singing  Hosanna,  in  invocation  of 
the  coming  Messiah.  Hence  the  branches  were  also  called  Ho- 
sannas.  During  the  eight  days  of  the  festival  were  sung  the 
Psalms  from  113 — 119,  inclusive;  and  as  the  feast  of  the  Taber- 
nacles was  a  season  of  the  most  decided  indications  of  joy,  the 
whole  city  of  Jerusalem  was  most  brilliantly  illuminated.  In  (he 
c<»urt  of  the  women  were  great  rejoicings  every  evening;  lights 
Were  burning  in  four  candlesticks  of  gold,  said  to  be  filty  cubits 
High,  whilst  the  Priests  and  Levites  standing  on  the  fifteen  steps 
c*^  the  inner  court,  sung  the  songs  of  degrees,  Psalms  120 — 184. 
On  the  seventh  day  they  compassed  the  altar  seven  times,  and 
this  was  called  the  grand  Hosanna,  to  which  John  alludes,  Rev. 
7,  9.  10.    Whiist  the  Hallels  were  sung,  the  people  made  out- 


FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES.  241 

Others  said:  No;  he  deceives  the  multitude.  However 
Done  spake  openly  concerning  him,  for  fear  of  the  Jews. 
Half  the  days  of  the  festival  were  now  passed,  wh^n 
Jpsiis  arrived*  at  the  temple,  and  began  to  teach.  And 
the  Jews  weie  astonished,  and  said:  Whence  comes  this 
man^s  learning,!   without  being  taught?     Jesus  answer- 

W:m\  tokens  of  the  ardour  of  their  feelings.  Thus  when  the 
S'njjers  and  musicians  came  to  these  words:  O  gjive  thanks  to  the 
Lord,  Ps.  118.  all  the  multitude  shook  their  branches;  and  this 
was  done  twice,  when  the  band  came  to  the  Hosanna  of  the  25th 
verse. 

The  most  remarkable  ceremony  performed  at  this  festival,  was 
the  drawing  of  water  from  Sdoam,  by  the  Priests,  which  they 
brouj^ht  in  a  golden  vessel  with  grt^at  and  solemn  joy  through  the 
water  gate  to  the  temple,  and  poured  out  to  the  southwest  of  the 
altar;  whilst  the  Levites,  placing  on  musical  instruments  sang 
the  Hallels,  and  the  people  sang  with  triin-port  Isaiah  12.  3. 
With  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  from  the  wells  of  salvation.  Some 
of  the  Talmudists  assert  this  ceremony  was  a  symbole  of  rain, 
but  others  of  the  holy  spirit.  To  this  Jesus  alludes,  saving,  if 
any  man  thirst  let  him  come  to  me  and  drink;  and  cites  Isaiah  58. 
11,  as  now  accomplished  in  the  living  streams  of  gospel  truth  and 
grace,  and  about  to  be  still  more  gloriously  realized  in  the  effusion 
of  the  spirit,  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus. 

*  Krom  John  7.  6,  8,  and  Luke  13.  33,  it  appears  that  Jesus 
was  detained  in  Galilee  three  or  four  days  after  the  departure  of 
his  brethren  to  attend  this  feast.  The  mission  of  the  seventy  on 
his  way,  and  the  dismission  of  the  multitude  that  followed  him 
so  far  as  the  bou  daries  of  Judea,  may  have  occasioned  a  still 
greater  delay  so  that  it  was  the  fifth  day  of  the  feast  before  he  ar- 
rived at  the  temple. 

t  The  Jewish  learning  consisted  chiefly  in  the  knowledge  of 
their  scriptures  and  the  traditions  of  the  elders.  These  branches 
of  learning  were  taught  at  their  schools,  and  no  person  under- 
took to  teach  others,  who  had  not  previously  obtained  a  regular 
education  under  their  scribes.  In  this  very  learning  our  blessed 
Master  admirably  excelled,  which  excited  the  astonishment  of  his 
hearers.  Without  having  attended  their  public  schools,  he  as- 
sumed the  prerogative  of  teaching  even  in  their  temple,  where 
the  Jewish  Doctors  taught,  and  showed  himself  more  able  to  elicit 
the  sense  of  Scripture,  and  apply  it  with  greater  success  than  any 
of  their  Rabbis.  Our  Lord's  supernatural  qualifications  and  un- 
usual conduct,  should  never  be  pleaded  in  apology  for  the  pre- 
sumptuous intrusion  of  ignorant  men,  whose  uncalled  services 
have  been  the  bane  and  Uisgrace  of  the  Christian  ministry  and 


2^2  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES. 

ed  them,  saying:  The  doctrine  I  teach  is  not  my  own, 
but  his  who  sent  me.  If  any  man  desire  to  do  his  will, 
he  shall  discern*  whether  this  doctrine  proceed  from 
God  or  from  myself.  He  that  speaks  from  himself 
seeks  to  promote  his  own  glory;  but  the  man  is  true 
and  has  no  deceit  in  him,  who  seeks  to  promote  the 
glury  of  him  that  sent  him.  Did  not  Moses  give  you 
the  law.'*  Yet  none  of  you  observe  the  law.  Why  do 
ye  seek  to  kill  me.'*  The  people  answered  and  said: 
Thou  art  a  demoniac.  Who  seeks  to  kill  thee.''  Jesus 
said:  I  performed  one  work  on  account  of  which  you 
were  all  surprized.  Are  ye  angry  at  me.  because  on  the 
Sabbath  I  cured  a  man,  whose  whole  body  was  diseased.^ 
Moses  instituted  circumcision  amongst  you,  not  that  it 
came  from  Moses,  but  from  the  Patriarchs,!  and  ye  cir- 


Feligion.  Jesus  assigns  the  reason  of  his  exemption  from  the 
common  manner  of  attaining  learning,  by  declaring  that  he  was 
instructed  of  God. 

*'rhis  is  the  most  perfect  and  sure  guide  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth.  Let  a  man  earnestly  desire  and  labour  to  dot-e  will 
of  God,  and  he  shall  soon  perceive  that  the  doctrines,  precepts, 
and  entire  system  ot  the  gospel,  breathes  a  divine  influence,  and 
exerts  a  renovating  power,  unknown  to  every  other  system  in  the 
world.  Al;ts!  for  those  who  reason,  debate,  and  oppose,  but 
never  seek  in  humble  prayer  celestial  illumination  from  the  Fa- 
ther of  light.  God  has  so  decreed,  that  divine  truth  shall  be  hid 
from  the  unhallowed,  proud,  and  careless.  Therefore  the  opinion, 
or  even  the  argument  of  an  ungodly  or  infidel  man  should  not  be 
regarded.  None  but  true  and  practical  believers  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  can  either  know  or  preach  the  gospel  of  Christ.  All  know- 
ledge that  has  not  a  practical  tendency,  is  worse  than  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit. 

t  .  lie  origin  of  circumcision  has  afforded  grounds  of  much  dis- 
cushion,  and  even  s  emingly  dubious  decision  among  the  learned. 
See  Le  Clerc  on  Gen.  17. 10.  Some  authors  see  nothing  in  antiquity 
that  is  not  derived  from  Egypt;  and  others  can  scarcely  admit  of 
any  religious  rite  among  the  heathens,  which  did  not  originate 
among  the  Patriarchs  of  the  Jewish  nation.  He  who  would  *ee 
the  controversy  concerning  the  origin  of  circumcision,  will  find 
thf  subject  full_y  and  fairly  represented  by  the  learned  Spencer,  de 
Legibus  Heb.  Rit.  L.  1,  sect.  4,  where  the  testimonies  oi  Hero- 
dotus, Philo,  Sanchuniatho,  Josephus,  and  others  are  examined. 


FEAST  OF  TABF.RISTACLES.  24S 

cumcise  a  child  on  the  Sabbath,  f  bat  the  law  of  Moses 
mi  fbl  not  be  violated.  Judtj;e  not  therefore  according 
to  a;)pearance,  but  render  |ud{j;ment  accordinjjj  to  justice. 
Tben  some  of  the  inhabitants  ot  Jerusalem,  said:  Is 
not  this  he  whom  they  seek  to  kill?  Lo!  he  speaks 
boldly,  and  they  say  nothing  to  him.  Do  the  rulers 
truly  acknowledge  that  this  is  the  Messiah?  As  for  us  we 
are  acquainted  with  this  man's  ancestry,  whereas  whea 
the  Messiah  shall  come,  none  will  know  whence  he 
comes.*     Jesus,  who   was  then  teaching  in  the  temple, 

as  well  as  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  early  Fathers,  especially 
Ori»en  and  Cyril.  Grotius  de  Veritate  R.  C.  L.  1  sect.  16,  has 
addiicfd  ancient  testimonies  to  prove  that  all  the  Asiatic  nations 
received  the  rite  from  Abraham,  and  why  might  not  the  Egyptians 
and  Ethiopians  have  received  it  from  Joseph  To  the  assertion 
of  Celsus  that  the  Jews  derived  circumcision  from  the  Egyptians, 
Origen  replies,  that  Mrnham  was  the  fimt  of  mortals  ivho  had 
been  circumcised.  Our  Lord  does  not  determine  this  question,  but 
onlv  carries  back  its  use  to  the  Patriarchs.  The  dispute  is  of  no 
gr*^:it  consequence,  whether  the  Egyptians  received  the  rite  from 
the  Patriarchs,  or  the  Patriarchs  from  the  Egyptians,  seeing  God 
adopted,  and  enjoined  it  on  pain  of  death,  as  a  sign  and  seal  of 
his  covenant  with  Abraham  and  his  posterity.  Hence  it  was  call- 
ed the  covenant  of  circumcision. 

*  Calmet  observes,  that  the  multitude  which  heard  our  Lord  at  this 
time,  was  composed  of  three  different  classes  of  persons.  1.  The 
rulers,  priests,  and  pharisees,  declared  enemies  of  Christ.  2. 
The  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  who  knew  the  sentiments  of  their 
rulers  concerning  him.  3.  The  strangers,  who,  from  different 
qu -rters  had  come  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  feast,  and  who  heard 
Christ  attentively,  being  ignorant  of  the  evil  designs  of  the  rulers, 
agains'  him. 

Our  Lord  addresses  himself  in  this  discourse  principally  to  his 
enemies.  The  sirange  Jews  were  those  who  were  astonished 
whHn  Christ  said  to  them,  that  thi/  sought  to  kill  him,  having  no 
such  design  themselves,  and  not  knowing  that  others  had.  And  the 
Jews  of  Jerusalem  were  those,  who  knowing  the  disposition  of  the 
rulers,  and  seeing;  Christ  speak  openly,  no  man  attempting  to  seize 
hiiti,  addressed  each  other  in  the  foregoing  words:  Do  the  rulers 
know  indeed  that  this  is  the  Christ?  imagining  that  the  chief  priests, 
ha*  been  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah. 

Thp  generi'liiy  of  th'-  pi  oule  knew  verv  well  that  the  Messiah 
was  to  be  born  in  Bethlehem,  in  the  city,  and  ot  the  family  of  Da- 


24i  FEAST  OP  TABERNACLES. 

cried,  saying::  Do  ye  both  know  me,  and  whence  T  nm? 
I  huve  not  come  of  myself.  He  who  sent  me  is  worthy 
of  belief,  but  ye  know  him  rot.  But  I  know  him,  be- 
cause T  came  from  him,  and  received  of  him  my  com- 
mission. Then  they  soug:ht  to  seize  him,  yet  none 
laid  hands  on  liim,  because  his  time  had  not  yet  arrived. 
But  many  of  the  people  believed  on  him,  and  «aid: 
When  the  Messiah  comes,  will  he  do  greater  miracles 
than  ihose  which  this  man  has  done? 

When  the  Pharisees  heard  these  private  debat''ng;s  of 
the  people  concerning  Jesus,  they  and  the  Chief  Pri**sts 
despatched  officers  to  seize  him.  Then  Jesus  said  to 
them:  yet  a  little  while  I  shall  remain  with  you,  and 
then  I  will  return  to  him  who  sent  me.  Ye  will  seek, 
but  shall  not  find  me,  and  to  the  place  whither  I  am 
going,  ye  shall  not  be  able  to  come.  Then  said  the 
Jews  among  themselves:  Whither  is  he  going,  that  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  find  him.''  Is  he  going  among  the 
dispersed  Greeks  to  teach  them.'*  What  does  his  saying 
mean  ? 

Now  on  the  last  and  greatest*  day  of  the  festival,  Jesus 

vid,  John  7.  42.  But  from  Isaiah  liii.  8.  Who  shall  declare  his 
generation?  they  probabi)'  thought  there  should  be  something  so 
peculiarly  mysterious  in  his  birth,  or  in  the  manner  of  his  appear- 
ing, that  no  person  could  fully  understand.  Had  they  considered 
his  miraculous  conception,  they  would  have  felt  their  minds  re- 
lieved on  this  point. 

*  The  last  day  grew  into  such  high  esteem  with  the  nation,  be- 
cause on  the  seven  preceding  days  they  held  that  sacrifices  were  of- 
fered, not  so  much  for  themselves  as  for  the  whole  world.  They 
offered  in  the  course  of  them  seventy  bullocks  for  the  seventy  na- 
tions of  the  world;  but  the  eighth  was  wholly  on  their  own  behalf. 
It  was  a  separate  solemnity  for  Israel  alone.  They  had  their  so- 
lemn offering  of  water;  the  reason  of  which  is  this:  At  the  passover 
the  Jews  offered  an  omer  to  obtain  from  God  his  blessing  upon  the 
b;irvest:  at  Pentecost,  their  first  fruits,  to  request  his  blessing  on 
the  fruits  of  the  trees;  and  at  the  feast  of  tabernacles  they  offered 
Water  to  God,  partly  referring  to  the  water  from  the  rock  in  the 
wilderness,  1  Corinth,  x.  4;  but  chiefly  to  solicit  the  blessing  of 
rain  on  the  approaching  seed-time.  These  waters  they  drew  out 
ol  Siloah,  and  brought  them  into  the  temple,  with  the  sound  of  the 


FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES.  245 

Stood  and  cried:  If  any  one  thirst,*  let  him  come  to  me 

and  drink.     From  him  that  believes  on  me,  as  the  S-rip- 

u  res  i)ave  said,  rivers  of  living  water  shall  flow,  as  from 

a  fountain.     But  this   he  said  of  the  spirit,  which  they 

that  believed  on  him  were  about  to  receive;  for  the  ^y\y 

spirit  was  not  given,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified. 

Many  of  the  people  having  heard  this  d-scourse,  said: 

Certainly  this  is  the  Prophet.     0<!hers  said:  This  i«  the 

Messiah.     Others  said:  Does  the  Messiah  come  out  of 

Galilee?     Do  not  the  Scriptures  say,   that  the  Messiah 

descends    from    David,  and   comes  from  the    village   of 

Bethlehem,  whence  David  was?     Thus  the  people  were 

dividedf  concerning  him;  and  though  some  would  have 

seized  him,  yet  none  laid  hands  on  him. 

trumpet  and  with  great  rejoicina;.  The  priest  went  up  the  ascenf 
of  the  Altar,  where  they  had  placed  two  silver  vessels,  one  filled 
with  water  and  the  other  with  wine.  He  poured  sonie  of  the  water 
into  the  wine  and  some  of  the  wine  into  the  water,  and  at  the  time 
of  pouring  out  the  libation,  the  man  who  did  not  show  sensations  of 
joy,  was  thought  incapable  of  pleasant  emotions.  As  the  pouring 
out  of  the  waters  was  considered  a  symbol  of  the  giving  of  the  law, 
so  it  was  also  intended  to  excite  the  expectation  of  the  effusion  of  the 
spirit.  Christ,  alluding  to  their  customs,  proclaims,  "If  any  man 
thirst,  let  liim  come  unto  me  "  He  takes,  as  is  very  usual  with 
him,  the  present  occasion  of  the  water  brought  from  Siloah,  to  sum- 
mon them  to  himself  as  the  true  fountain.  John  iv.  14. — Light' 
foot,  Hammond,  and  liosenmtdler. 

*As  ardent  desire  was  called  thirst  in  the  figurative  language  of  the 
Jews,  Jesus  calls  en  all  that  strongly  desired  happiness,  to  come  to 
him  for  enjoyment;  for  he  was  now  about  to  give  a  more  excellent 
law  and  a  fuller  effusion  of  the  holy  spirit,  than  had  ever  been  be- 
stowed on  man.  In  evidence  of  what  he  said,  he  referred  to  Isaiah 
44.  3,  58  11,  and  Joel  3.  who  predict  that  in  the  time  of  the  Messi- 
ah, God  would  pour  out  his  spirit.  He  alludes  also  to  the  Ampho- 
ra, out  of  which  the  water  was  poured,  and  declares,  that  those  on 
whom  he  would  bestow  such  a  copious  effusion  of  his  spirit,  would 
like  that  vessel  diffuse  the  living  waters  on  others. 

t  This  section  gives  a  lively  picture  of  the  divisions  among  the 
Jews  respecting  Christ.  They  saw  his  miracles — tney  heard  his 
teaching- — they  w^re  generally  acquainted  with  his  history.  Yet 
they  could  not  reconcile  what  they  saw  with  their  preconceived  no- 

3'2 


246  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES. 

Then  came  the  officers  to  the  Chief  Priests  and 
Pharisees,  who  said  to  them:  Wherefore  have  ye  rot 
brought  him?  The  officers  answered:  Never  did  man 
speak  like  this  man.*  The  Pharisees  replied:  Are  ye 
also  deceived?  Hive  any  of  the  rulers  or  Pharisees 
believed  on  him?  But  this  populace,  not  knowing;  the 
law,  are  accursed.  Nicodemus,  one  of  them,  and  the 
same  who  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  said  to  them:  Does 
our  law  permit  us  to  condemn  any  man  without  hearing 
him,  and  knowing  what  he  does?  They  answered:  Art 
thou  a  (ialilean?  Search  and  thou  wilt  see,f  that  a  Pro- 
phet does  not  arise  out  of  Galilee. 


tions  o^  the  Me«siah.  They  rejected  his  claims,  and  could  not 
comprehend  the  spiritual  meaning  of  our  Lord's  language.  The 
Cijristian's  peculiar  happiness  and  privilege  is  to  see  fulfilled  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  all  the  various  predictions  of  the  an- 
cient prophets,  which  appeared  to  the  Jews  so  inconsistent,  and  so 
irr<'c.>nf;ileahle. 

*  'rh<.iugh  these  officer?  had  gone  on  the  errand  of  their  ma.eters, 
they  hari  not  entered  into  their  spirit.  They  were  sent  to  appre- 
hend a  seditious  man  and  a  false  prophet.  They  came  where  Je- 
sus tau^ht;  thry  found  him  to  be  a  difTerent  person  to  the  descrip- 
tion they  received  from  their  masters,  and  therefore  did  not  attempt 
to  touch  or  molest  him.  They  heard,  they  felt,  that  no  man  ever 
spokn  with  so  much  grace,  power,  majesty,  and  eloquence.  They 
had  never  heard  a  discour.se  so  affecting  and  persuasive. 

Christ  has  been  in  general  rejected  by  the  rulers  of  this  world. 
A  life  of  mortification,  self  denial,  and  humility,  does  not  comport 
with  the  views  of  those  who  willhuve  their  portion  in  this  life.  It 
has  ever  been  a  mark  of  the  truth  of  God,  that  the  great,  the 
mighty,  and  the  wise,  have  in  general  rejected  it.  They  are  too 
much  occupied  with  t/v's  world,  to  attend  to  the  concerns  of  the  next. 
W'agenseil  and  Schoetgen  have  given  many  proofs  of  the  con- 
tempt in  which  the  coriiinon  people  were  held  by  the  Pharisees. 
Those  who  were  .lisciples  of  any  of  the  Rabbms,  were  considered 
as  being  in  a  much  better  state. 

t  Ex  imine  the  Scriptures,  search  the  public  registers,  and  thou 
wilt  -ee  that  out  of  Galilee  there  arises  no  prophet.  Neither  the 
Mesuith,  nor  any  oiher  prophet,  has  ever  proceeded  trom  Galilee, 
nor  ever  can.  This  conclusion,  says  Calmel,  was  false  and  imper- 
tinent: false,  hecau-<e  Jon.ih  was  ot  Gathhcper,  m  Galilee*  See  2 
Kings   xiv.  25,  compared  with  Josh.  xix.  14.     The   prophet  A'«- 


SECTION  SIXTY-FOURTH. 

Jesus  asserts  the  Authority  of  his  Mi«sion. 

Again  Jesus  addressed  the  people  sayino;:  I  atn  the 
lio^ht*of  the  world:  he  who  follovvs  me  shall  not  walk  ia 
darkness,  but  shall  have  the  li^ht  of  life.  The  Pharisees, 
therefore  r«^torted:  Thou  testifiest  concerning  thyself, 
thy  testimony  should  not  be  regarded.  Jesus  answer- 
ed: Though  I  testify  concerning  myself,  my  testimony 
ought  to  be  received;  because  I  know  whence  I  came, 
and  whither  I  go  As  for  you,  ye  know  not  whence  I 
come  and  whither  I  go.  Ye  judge  froni  passion,  I  judge 
no  man:  and  if  I  do,  my  judgment  ought  to  be  regarded; 
for  I  act  not  alone,  but  concur  with  the  Father  who  sent 
me,  It  is  a  maxim  in  your  law  that  the  concurrent  tes- 
timony of  two  is  credible  Now  I  am  one  wno  tesiify 
concerning  myself;- the  Father  that  sent  me  is  another,f 


hum  was  also  a  Galilean,  for  he  was  of  th^  tribe  of  Simeon:  and 
some  suppose  that  MaJachi  was  of  th;'  same  pl;ice.  The  conclu- 
sion was  false,  because  there  had  not  been  ;\  prophet  from  any  par- 
ticular place,  was  no  argument  that  there  never  could  be  onej  as 
the  place  had  not  been  proscribed. 

*  It  is  probable  that  the  rising  sun  had  just  beirun  to  spread  his 
brig;ht  beams  on  the  temple,  when  our  Lord  returned  from  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  and  referring  to  some  places  in  the  Je-vish 
writiniis,  especially  Is.  60.  10.  Mai.  4.  2,  where  the  Messiah 
is  metaphorically  called  the  Sun,  he  aildresses  the  Jews  in  the 
words  of  the  text.  The  title  of  Light  nf  the  i/^o^ld  was  given  by 
the  Raobis  to  God,  to  Moses,  to  the  Law,  and  to  their  most  dis- 
tinguished doctors.  The  same  title  was  given  by  Jesus  to  the 
Twelve  Apostles,  Matt.  5.  14.  Jesus  was  next  to  his  eternal 
Father,  the  most  di8tinu,uished  light  of  the  world,  in  everv  age. 
See  Section  29th  p.  11 5,  Schoetgen's  Horae  H.'b.  and  Gill  on 
Matt.  5.  14,  and  John  8.  12. 

t  Dr.  Clarke  correctly  observes  on  this  passage:  "It  is  worthy 
of  remark,  that  in  all  this  discourse,  our  blessed  Lord  ever  speaks 
of  the  Father  and  himself  as  two  distinct  persona  Therefore  the 
Father  is  not  the  Son  nor  the  Son  the  Father,  as  some  persons 
vainly  imagine."  The  whole  force  of  our  Lord's  argument  de- 
pends ni  this  plain  fact,  that  he,  the  Son,  and  the  Father  who  be- 
gat him,  and  sent  him  into  the  world,  are  livo  distinct  persons!  Is 
there  not  a  heavy  charge  for  dishonour  to  God  and  destruction  of 


248     JESUS  ASSERTS  THE  AUTHORITY  OF  HIS  MISSION. 

who  testifies  of  me.  Then  they  asked  him:  Where  is 
thj'  Father?  Jesus  answered:  Ye  know  neither  mo,  nor 
my  Father:  had  ye  known  me,  ye  would  have  knotvn 
my  Father  also.  These  things  Jesus  spake  in  the  trea- 
sury, as  he  taught  in  the  tetnple,  and  nobody  seized 
him.  his  hour  not  being  yet  come 

Again  Jesus  said  to  them:  I  am  going  away;  ye  will 
seek  ine,  and  shall  die  in  your  sin;  and  whither  [  go,  ye 
cannot  come.*  Then  said  the  Jews,  will  he  kill  himself, 
for  he  says:  Whither  I  go,  ye  cannot  come.''  He  said  to 
them:  Ye  are  from  beneath;  I  am  from  above.  Ye  are 
of  this  world;  I  am  not  of  this  world;  therefore  I  said: 
Ye  shall  die  in  your  sins;  for  if  ye  believe  not  that  I  am 
be,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins  They  therefore  ask*^;d 
him:  Who  art  thou?  Jesus  answered:  The  same  that  I 


souls,  lying  on  the  heads  of  those,  who  confound  these  persons; 
and  either  attempt  to  bl<»t  out  the  light  of  heaven,  by  teaching, 
that  Jesus  is  the  One  God,  from  whom  he  is  so  clearly  distin- 
guished, or  that  there  are  more  Gods  than  one,  to  the  disgrace 
and  obstruction  of  all  true  religion. 

*  In  the  preceding  discourse,  John  7.  54,  our  Lord  had  told  the 
Jews,  that  whither  he  went  they  should  be  unable  to  follow;  but 
they  attempted  to  turn  his  language  into  ridicule,  by  inquiring  if 
he  intended  to  go  after  the  Hellenists  whu  were  scattered  through- 
out Europe  and  Africa.  Here  he  repeats  the  same  thing,  with  an 
awful  appendix;  "Ye  shall  die  in  your  sin."  This  was  quoted 
from  the  Targum  on  Joshua  22.  21,  and  gave  them  plain  intima- 
tion fnnn  their  own  writings,  that  he  meant,  they  could  not  enter 
paradise,  the  place  of  the  blessed.  Here  they  again  repeat  their 
ridicule  with  a  mixture  of  indignation.  Jesiis  repeats  his  asser- 
tion a  second  time,  and  makes  another  addition,  showing  them 
that  unbelief  would  exclude  them  from  his  fellowship  hereafter. 
]No\v  there  c(»ul>!  be  no  reason  for  mistake,  among  the  Jews,  about 
his  meaning;,  nor  is  there  any  cause  why  any  should  pervert  the 
plain  import  of  these  worcis,  except  we  admit,  that  the  same  judi- 
cial blindness,  which  rested  on  the  Jews,  has  been  transferred  to 
them.  V\heie  did  Jesus  tell  the  Jews  he  was  going?  To  his 
Fat'ier  in  Heaven.  What  could  mean,  their  inability  to  follow 
him?  Their  sin  and  unbelief.  H'  therefore  a  soul  pass  from  the 
light  of  the  gospel  ministry,  into  another  world  in  sin  and  unbe- 
lief, as  God  and  the  Bibie  are  true,  tliey  shall  be  excluded  from 
the  light  of  Heaven  and  the  presence  of  God. 


JESUS  ASSERTS  THE  AUTHORITY  OF  HIS  MISSION.        249 

told  you  formerly.  I  have  many  things  to  sav  of  you, 
and  to  reprove  in  you:  but  he  who  sent  me  is  worthy  of 
belief",  and  I  only  publish  to  the  world  what  I  have 
heard  from  him  Tliey  did  not  perceive  that  he  meant 
the  Father.  Jesus  therefore  said  to  them:  When  ye 
shall  have  raised  the  Son  of  Man  on  high;  then  ye  shall 
know  what  I  am;  and  that  I  do  nothing  of  myself,  but 
am  teaching  what  the  Father  has  taught  me.  And  he 
who  sent  me  is  with  me.  The  Father  has  not  left  me 
alone,  because  I  always  do  what  pleases  him.  While 
he  spake  thus,  many  believed  on  him.  Jesus,  therefore, 
said  to  those  Jews  who  believed  on  him.  If  ye  continue 
steadfast  in  ray  doctrine,  ye  are  my  disciples  indeed. 
And  ye  shall  know  the  truth;  and  the  truth  shall  make 
you  free  * 

*  Sir  I.  Newton  supposes,  that  this  discourse  was  pronounced  at 
the  fe-i'it  of  Tabernacles,  on  the  Sabbatical  year  of  Jubilee,  when 
all  .-ewish  •slaves  were  set  at  libri'ty-  This  is  in  accordance  with 
what  I  have  alreadv  said.  Section  thirteenth  pp.  62,  63:  and  our 
Lord's  repeated  allussions  to  freedom  or  liberty  in  this  discourse 
is  evidence  in  favour  of  the  supposition.  It  is  a  pleading  co-inci- 
dence, that  Christianity  should  have  been  published  on  the  last 
Jubilee,  ever  celebrated  by  the  Jews  in  their  (twn  land,  city,  and 
temple-  In  this  conversaiion  of  our  Lord  with  the  Jews  they 
evince  the  greatest  prejudice,  ignorance,  ai.d  malevolence.  Jesus 
tells  t?.em.  that  the  truth  would  make  them  free;  that  is.  they 
would,  by  the  light  and  the  liberty  of  thf  gospel,  be  delivered  Irom 
the  bondage  of  rhe  ceremonial  law,  and  from  their  prejudices,  ig- 
norance, and  enor;  and  what  is  more  than  all,  delivered  from 
their  hatred  towards  him,  and  that  unbelief,  which  shut  the  greater 

Eart  of  their  nation  out  of  his  kins^dom,  both  on  earth  and  in 
eaveii.  Never  was  a  greater  truth  pronounced  by  the  lips  of 
mortal  man  than  this:  The  service  of  God,  according  to  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus,  is  perfect  liberty. 


SECTION  SIXTY  FIFTH. 

Discourse  concerning  Abraham's  Offspring. 

Some  made  answer:  We  are  Abraham's  offspring,  and 
were  never  enslaved  to  any  man.     How  say  est  thou: 


S50     DISCOURSE  CONOEUNING  ABRAHAM'S  OFFSPRING. 

Ye  shall  be  made  free?  Jesus  replied:  Verily,  verily  I 
say  urilo  you,  whosoever  commits  sin  is  a  slave  lo  sin. 
Now  the  slave  abides  not  in  the  family  perpptuajiy;  but 
the  Son  abides  for  ever.  If,  therefore,  the  Son'  make 
you  free  *  ye  vt^ill  be  free  indeed.  I  know  that  ye  are 
Abraham's  offspring,  yet  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  because  my 
doctrine  has  no  place  in  you.  I  speak  what  I  havesren 
with  my  Father;  and  ye  do  what  ye  have  learnt 
from  your  father  Thev  answered:  Abraham  is  our 
father.  Jesus  replied:  If  ye  were  Abraham's  children, 
ye  would  act  like  Abraham.  But  now  ye  seek  to  kill 
me,  a  man  who  have  told  you  the  truth  which  I  received 
from  God.  This  Abraham  would  not  have  done.  Ve 
do  the  deeds  of  your  father!  They  answered:  We  were 
not  born  of  fornication.  We  have  one  Faiher,  even 
God.  Jesus  replied:  If  God  were  your  Father,  ye  would 
love  me;  for  I  proceeded,!  and  have  come  from  God. 

*  Tillotson  thinks  Christ  here  alludes  to  the  custom  of  some 
cities  in  Greece  where  the  son  or  heir  had  the  liberty  of  adopling 
brethren  and  grantin<>;  to  them  the  privilege  ot  the  family. 

The  Jews  m  ho  affirmed  that  they  were  never  in  bondage  to  any 
man,  could  not  mean,  that  their  nation  had  never  been  tributary 
to  other  nations  or  enslaved  by  them;  for  they  could  not  be  igno- 
rant of  their  servitude  in  Egypt  and  Chaldea,  nor  their  sul^juga- 
tion  by  the  Macedonians  and  Romans;  but  they  thought,  that,  as 
it  was  the  year  of  Jubilee  our  Lord  alluded  to  the  emancipation 
of  slaves  or  bondmen;  and  therefore  they  deny  that  as  individuals 
they  had  been  in  bondage  to  any  man,  and  cinsequt^ntly  did  not 
require  the  emancipaMun  afforded  by  t!ie  Jubilee  to  bond-men. 

t  Here  is  a  plain  answer  to  a  plain  question.  In  this  conversa- 
tion the  Jews  ask  Christ:  Who  art  thou?  Jesus  replies  by  refer- 
ring them  to  his  former  declarations  on  this  subject;  but  on  their 
assuming  the  rehtionship  of  children  to  God  Jesus  tells  them  that 
he  came  out  of  God.  The  phrase  ejctou  Ssa  f|nX&ov  plainly  declares 
his  derivation  from  God,  as  a  Son  from  a  Father,  'i'his  is  the 
usual  mode  of  expression,  througti  the  scripture,  used  to  denote 
the  derivation  of  one  being  trom  another  by  natural  descent;  and 
to  this  passage,  I  doubt  not,  the  Council  of  Nice  had  reference, 
when  in  opposition  to  Arius,  the  Council  det^  rmined  Jesus  lo  be 
God  E.t  Ton  fieb',  out  of  God:  that  is  derived  froni  God,  as  a  son  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  his  father,  'i  he  disputation  about  the 
orijiin  of  the  Son's  nature  sheuld  not  have  divided  the  Church  nor 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  ABRAHAM'S  0PFSPR1N«.    261 

Neither  came  T  of  mvself,  but  he  sent  me.  Why  do  ye  not 
understand  my  lano!;uag;e?  It  is  because  ye  cannot  bear 
njy  doctrine.  The  devil  is  your  father,  and  the  desires 
of  your  father  ye  will  gratify:  he  was  a  manslayer  from 
the  beginning;:  and  continued  not  in  the  truth,  because 

tor  its  C(»ni!niini(>n,  as  we  find  it  dirl  in  the  fourth  century.  Nor 
shouM  the  question  be  made  a  term  of  Communion,  seein*  it  is  so 
rem  «t"  fiom  our  comprehension.  Nor  should  the  Arian  ur^e  his 
hvp.tthesis,  becans**  of  obscurity  or  incomprehensibility,  in  the 
scheme  of  the  Homo  ousirin;  for  to  reject  a  doctrine,  merely  be- 
cause of  our  i'lcapacity  to  understand  it,  is  to  act  the  fool  or  vain 
scpptic,  rather  than  the  sober  and  honest  inquirer  after  truth. 
The  pre-existence  of  Christ  should  be  maintained  at  all  expense; 
for  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  strangled  by  the  hypocritical  euibraces 
of  those,  who  deny  this  doctrine,  and  de2;rade  Christianity  to  a 
human  system  by  reducing  its  founder  to  the  rank  of  a  mere  pro- 
pi  et,  and  his  death  to  that  of  a  martyr.  For  such  has  been  the 
result  of  every  experiment  made  by  the  Humanitarians,  as  far  as 
the  annals  of  history  have  brought  down  to  our  age,  an  impartial 
report. 

The  Jews  held  that  the  Soul  of  the  Messiah  existed  before  the 

world,  and  will  come  down  to  animate  his  body.     Hence  they  say 

two  persons   were  engaged  in  promulgating  the  Law.     The  two 

first  precepts  were  spoken  by  the  Supreme  Spirit,  but  he  spoke  all 

the  rest  by  the  Shechina,  called  El  Shaddai,  the   Angel  in  whom 

is  the  name  of  God,  who  was  known  to  the  fathers,  by  whom  the 

prophets  foretold  future  events,  and  that  Goodness  which  Moses 

saw,  whi-n  he  could  not  see  God.     See  the  testimonies  adduced 

by  Allix,  VVhitaker,  Jameson  and  others.     Ignatius,  in  his  Epistle 

to  the  Magnessians,  speaks  of  Jesus,  as  being  in   the  presence  of 

the  Father  before  the  ages,  or   world,  antl  proceeding  from  the 

Father  alone.       Come    then   Evangelical   Jews,   Holy   Apostles, 

Apostolical   Fathers,  and  Primitive   Christians,  tell    me   of  the 

Father,  and  of  his   Son,  who  being  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father 

beiore   the  world,  co-operated  with  him  in  the  formation  of  this 

earth,  and  man  upon  it;    gave  the  Law  on  Sinai;  and  for  us  men 

and  our  salvation,  left  the  heavens  and  came  down  to  earth;  was 

incarnate  and  died  a  sacrifice,  the  just  for  the  unjust;  and  I  will 

lisien  with  delight  till  this  celestial  truth,  accompanied  with  the 

influence  of  the  divine  Spirit,  transform  my  soul  to  the  likeness 

of  my  Master.      i'hen  shall  I  know  and  unclerstand  the  One  God 

from  whom  are  all  things;  and  the  One  Lord,  by  whom  are  all 

things;  and  like  a  true  Christian,  honour  the  Father  and  the  Son 

in  company   vvith  the  anjj;eis,  and   the  redeemed  spirits  in  bliss 

for  ever.  Amen. 


252    DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  ABRAHAM's  OFFSPRING 

there  is  no  veracity  in  hinj.*  When  he  tells  a  lie,  he 
speaks  suitably  to  his  character;  tor  he  is  a  liar  and 
the  father  of  1}  ing.  As  for  me,  because  I  speak  the 
truth,  ye  do  not  believe  Which  of  you  can  convict  me 
of  falsehood?  And  if  I  speak  truth,  why  do  ye  not  be- 
lieve me?  He  who  is  of  God  regards  the  words  of  God; 
but  ye  regard  them  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  God. 

The  Jews  then  answered,  Have  we  not  reason  to  say: 
Thou  art  a  Samaritan  and  hast  a  demon?  Jesus  replied: 
I  have  not  a  demon;  but  I  honour  my  Father,  and  ye 
dishonour  me.  I  seek  not  to  promote  my  own  glory. 
There  is  another  who  seeks  it,  who  will  judge  Verily, 
verily  I  say  unto  you:  Whoever  keeps  my  word,  shall 
never  see  death. f     The  Jews  then  said  to  him:  Now  we 

*Here  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  history  in  Genesis,  where  the 
Serpent  deceived  Eve,  and  thus  introduced  sin  and  destruction 
amoj.g  mankind.  The  doctrine  of  human  depravity,  orij^inaring; 
in  the  seduction  of  our  first  parents,  by  a  fallen  Ano-el,  is  become 
oflFensive  to  those  who  would  nither  have  no  Bible  at  all,  than  one 
which  they  cannot  reconcile  to  their  own  notions  siid  schemes. 
The  doctrine  that  the  Devil  was  once  in  the  truth  and  fell  from  it, 
is  here  acknowledged  by  our  Lord.  His  seduction  of  Adam  and 
Eve  from  their  aTle|j;iance  to  God,  is  impli';d  in  his  being  a  de- 
stroyer of  men  from  the  beginni;ig;  and  the  doctrine,  that  all  men 
are  involved  in  the  sin  of  Adam,  is  made  the  very  foundation 
of  the  Apostle's  reasoning,  in  the  fifth  chapter  to  the  Romans. 
These  doctrines  thus  recognized  in  the  scriptures,  demand  our 
belief;  aiui  we  cannot  refuse  our  assent,  without  renouncing  all 
claudS  to  honest  inquirers  after  truth,  and  disciples  of  Jesus.  In 
Sohar  Cadrtsh,  the  wicked  are  called  by  the  Jews,  "The  children 
of  the   old  Serpent,   who  slew  Adam  and  all  his  descendants:" 

From  this  period,  says  Lightfoot,  it  is  manifest  that  the  ten- 
dency of  our  Lord's  discourse,  was  to  show  the  Jews,  that  they 
were  the  seed  of  that  serpent,  which  was  to  bruise  the  heel  of  the 
Messiah.  He.ce  in  many  parts  of  scripture,  the  wicked  and  th« 
righteous  are  placed  in  contrast,  as  children  of  God  and  children 
of  the  Devil.  But  all  this  would  be  mere  allegory,  if  there  be  no 
Devil.  Surely  professed  Christians  should  shudder  at  the  thought 
of  giving  infidels  occasion  to  laugh  at  the  scriptures,  as  fictioni 
built  on  allegorical  fancies! 

t  To  ste  ■)v  taste  death  means  in  the  Hebrew  idiom,  to  die.  Our 
Lord  i<ni8  the  jews,  th;tt  he  came  that  they  might  have  life,  John 
10.  10,  but  they  would  not  come  to  him  that  they  might  have  thi* 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  ABRAHAM'S  OFFSPRING.     253 

are  certain  that  thou  hast  a  demon:  Abraham  is  dead, 
and  the  prophets;  yet  thou  sayest:  Whoever  keeps 
my  word,  shall  never  taste  death.  Art  thou  greater  thaa 
our  father  Abraham,  who  is  dead?  And  the  prophets 
also  are  dead,  whom  thinkest  thou  thyself?  Jesus  an- 
swered: If  I  commend  myself,  my  commendation  is 
nothing:  it  is  ray  Father,  whom  ye  call  your  God,  who 
honours  me.  Nevertheless  ye  know  him  not:  but  I 
know  him;  and  if  1  should  say,  I  know  him  not,  [should 
speak  falsely  like  you:  but  [  know  him,  and  keep  his 
word.  Abraham  your  father  longed  to  see  my  day,  and 
he  saw  and  rejoiced.*     The  Jews  replied:  Thou  art  not 

life,  John  5,  40.  Here  he  affirms,  that  if  a  man  keep  his  sajini^s, 
that  man  shall  never  Hie.  The  same  declaration  he  makes >o 
Martha,  J:ihn  11.  25,  26.  On  the  other  hand  he  affirms,  that 
the  unbeliever  sliall  not  see,  or  enter  into  life,  John  3.  36. 
Novv  the  plain  and  unequivocal  imuort  of  our  Lord*9  words  ia 
these  sole'nn  and  awful  pass;ii»;es  of  scripture,  is  that  he  came  to 
give  the  Jews,  and  all  that  believe  on  hi  n,  e  ernal  life  or  iiwaor- 
talityi  and  that  as  soon  as  the  present  life  ends,  all  believers  vdl 
be  quickened  and  introduced  into  a  blessed  immortality,  to  which 
the  unbelieving  and  ungodly  shall  never  be  admitted;  but  either 
perish  like  the  cattle,  or  have  eternal  sleep  interrupted,  only  to 
see  the  dread  realities  of  which  they  doubted  here,  and  then  be 
consigned  to  the  Gehenna  of  fire,  with  Satan  and  ail  fallen  and 
unregenerate  intelligent  beings,  to  undergo  the  horrors  of  the 
second  death, 

*  Warburton,  Doddridge,  Henry,  and  Scott  understand  this, 
passage  to  relate  to  some  peculiar  revelation  made  to  Abnihuai, 
when  about  to  offer  his  son  Isaac,  in  which,  probably,  the  substi- 
tution of  Jesus  as  the  great  sacrifice,  was  made  known  to  him. 
But  many  have  believed  that  Jesus  was  the  person  who  held  (he 
conversations  with  Abraham,  related  in  the  seventeenth  aiid 
eighteenth  chapters  of  Genesis.  If  so  the  na'.ue  El  Skadlai, 
should  not  have  been  translated.  Almighty  God,  as  in  Chap.  17.  1. 
but  left  in  the  Hebrew  like  Elijah,  Eli,  or  GaDriel. 

The  supposition  that  Jesus  was  the  author  of  all  the  dispensa- 
tions of  the  Deity  to  mankind,  provides  a  key  to  the  holy  scrip- 
tures without  which  they  must  ever  remain  locked,  and  inaccessi- 
ble to  the  most  penetrnting  understanding  and  the  most  indefati- 
gable industry.  Jesus  has  decUred,  that  uo  mau  has  seen  God  at 
any  time,  and  that  the  only  begotten  Sun  has  revealed  him;  iiviX 

S3 


254     DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  ABRAHAM'S  OFFSPRING. 

yet  fifty  years  old,  and  hast  thou  seen  Abraham?  Jesus 
answered,  Verily  verily  I  say  to  you:  Before  Abrahani 
was  born,  T  am  *     Then  they  took  up  stones  to  cast  at 


is,  the  Son  was  the  author  of  all  revealed  reliojion.  How  appro- 
priate then  for  him  to  institute  all  the  ceremonies  and  sacrifices 
of  the  Mosaic  Dispensation,  as  types  and  figures  of  himself,  and 
the  things  of  his  kingdom,  to  be  fully  made' known  in  after  agt-s. 

*  Bishop  Pearce  says,  *'what  Jesus  here  affirms  relates  to  his  ex- 
istence before  Abraham,  otherwise  the  answer  would  not  have 
been  a  pertinent  one;  if  he  did  not  exist  before  Abraham's  days, 
hecou'd  not  have  seen  him."  Rosenmuller  remarks,  "the  passage 
may  be  lawfully  rendered,  'before  Abraham  was  born  I  existed;' 
the  present  being  used  for  the  imperfect,  which  is  often  done,  and 
the  connexion  of  the  discourse  requires  this."  He  adds:  "If 
Christ  designed  only  to  say,  that  he  existed  in  the  divine  decree 
before  Abraham,  he  said  nothing  that  might  not  be  said  by  any 
person  whatever.  But  the  words  being  an  answer  to  the  objection 
of  the  Jews,  that  he  was  not  fifty  years  old,  and  therefore  could 
n  >t  have  conversed  with  Abraham,  required  Jesus  to  answer  in  re- 
lation to  hi-;  personal  existence.  Often  it  is  affirmed  in  this  Gospel 
th  it  the  son  of  God  existed  before  the  world  was  made;  and  the 
Jews  must  have  understood  Jesus  to  say  something  very  peculiar, 
■which  so  exasperated  them  as  to  induce  them  to  take  up  stones  to 
cast  at  him.  Novatian  de  Trin.  argues  "that  if  Christ  ditl  not 
exist  before  Abraham,  he  spoke  falsely,  and  with  a  design  to 
deceive  the  Jews."  Indeed  the  comments  putont'ia  ^  words  of 
our  Master,  by  those  who  deny  his  pre-existence,  would  tend  to 
induce  an  honest  man  to  burn  his  Bible  and  abjure  his  faith,  rather 
than  to  attribute  so  deceptious  conduct  to  his  Master.  But  far 
otherwise  was  the  conduct  of  Jesus.  He  introduces  this  very 
affirmation  with  the  most  solemn  asseveration:  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  you;  and  his  language  expressed  what  the  Jews  under- 
stot)d,  and' the  Church  of  Christ  has  uniformly  believed,  namely, 
that  he  existed  bef<tre  Abraham. 

Bengel  lias  well  observed,  that  the  present  tense  is  often  used, 
so  as  to  include  the  past  and  the  present.  Indeed  this  is  the  only 
proper  use,  when  the  subject  is  still  in  existence,  and  the  tiling 
piedicated  true,  both  in  relation  to  the  past  and  present.  Take 
the  following  examples  from  the  Septuagint  and  New  Testament. 
Proverbs  8.  25,  Before  the  hills  he  begets  me,  ymocfj.!.  Jer.  1,  5, 
Before  I  formed  thee  in  the  womb,  ETrto-Tajaat,  I  know  thee.  Psalms 
90.  2,  before  tlie  mountains  were  produced  e*,  thou  art.  Thus  also 
Luke  15.  29,  31.  These  many  years  do  I  serve  thee — Son  thou  art 
ever  with  me.  Now  all  these  examples  and  many  similar  ones 
which  migiit  be  adduced,  clearly  show  that  the  past  is  included  in 


DISCOURSE  CONCERNING  ABRAHAM'S  OFFSPRING.     255 

hina;*  but  Jesus  concealed  himself,  and  escaped  out  of 
the  temple. 

the  present,  and  a  continuance  of  existence  impliod.  Henc  '  e 
particle  ante  or  t^jv  and  the  verb  sum  or  •ytvoju.a*  ele-jantly  unite. 
Jesus  was  before  Abraham  was  born  and  still  is,  1S50  sears  .iftev 
his  death.  How  appropriate  this  language  to  that  Je-^us  who  is  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,  Heb.  13.  8;  who  was  be/ore 
all  things,  and  by  whom  all  tihings  consist,  Col    1.  17. 

Dr.  S.  Clark  observes  that  "the  Socinian  interpretation  of  this 
passage,  'that  Christ  was  before  Abraham  in  the  divine  decree  and 
appointment,'  is  extremely  languid  and  unnatural.  The  plain 
meaning  is,  what  John  elsewhere  says,  he  was  with  God  in  the 
beginning  and  before  the  world  was." 

Dr.  Harwood  one  of  the  most  learned  critics  ever  the  dissenters 
of  England  could  boast,  animadverts  on  the  Socinian  comments  on 
this  passage,  in  the  following  strain.  "The  Socinian  interpreta- 
tion is  extremely  futile;  for  it  does  not  distinguish  our  Lord  from 
the  reader,  who  had  also  an  existence  in  the  divine  decree  before 
Abraham  existed.  It  is  plain,  that  our  Saviour's  audience  took 
these  words  in  their  natural  acceptation;  for  on  asserting  his  ex- 
istence prior  to  their  great  ancestor,  they  were  transported  with 
fury;  and  their  violence  proves  better  than  a  thousand  inane  and 
chimerical  theories,  how  our  Redeemer  was  understood,  and  in- 
tended to  be  understood  by  his  auditors.  Therefore  this  plain 
declaration  of  our  Saviour  to  the  Jews,  that  oefore  Abraham  was, 
he  had  an  existence,  will  for  ever  stand  in  full  force  against 
all  the  acumen  of  criticism  an<l  sagacity  of  refinement,  which 
may  be  employed  to  invalidate  and  explain  away  its  natnral  sig- 
nification." 

*  Lewis  in  his  Origines  Hebraeae  says,  there  was  a  punishment 
among  the  Jews  called  the  Rebel's  beating,  which  was  inflicted  jy 
the  mob  with  theii  fists,  or  staves,  or  stones,  without  mercy,  or 
sentence  of  the  judges,  and  that  it  often  proved  fatal.  Whoever 
transgressed  against  a  prohibition  of  the  wise  men,  or  of  tiie 
scribes,  that  had  its  foundation  in  the  law,  was  ilelivered  over  to 
the  people  to  be  used  in  this  manner,  and  was  called  a  son  ol  re- 
bellion. The  frequent  taking  up  ot  stones  by  the  people  to  stone 
our  Saviour,  and  the  incursion  upon  him  and  upon  Stephen  for 
blasphemy,  as  they  would  have  it,  and  uptn  Paul  for  defiling  ihe 
temple,  as  they  supposed,  were  of  this  nature. 


SECTION  SIXTY-SIXTH. 

Return  of  the  Seventf. 

Now  the  Seventy*  returned  with  joy  saying:  Master 
even  the  demons  are  subject  to  us  through  thy  name, 

*  As  the  names  of  the  Seventy  are  inserted  in  the  margins  of 
Several  ancient  Manuscripts,  and  are  not  generally  known,  the/ 
are  here  transcribed  from  the  Lex  Evangelii  of  Fabricius. 

A^abus.  the  prophet;  Acts  II    26. 

Amphias.  of  Odyssus,  some  imes  called  Amphiatus. 

Ananias,  who  baptized  Paul,  Bishop  of  Damascus;  Acts  9. 17. 

Andronicus,  of  Pannonia,  or  Spain. 

.tf/>f//es,  of  Smyrna,  or  Heraclea;  Rom.  l6.  10. 

Apollo,  of  Csesarea. 

^risfarchuH,  of  Apamea,  of  Macedonia;  Acts  19.  29. 

Aristobulus,  of  Britain. 

Artemas,  of  Lystra. 

Asynrntus,  of  Hyrcania. 

JBurnubas,  of  iVlilain;  Acts  IS.  2. 

£arimbas,  of  Heraclea. 

Caesar,  of  D^rrhachium. 

Caius,  of  Kphesus;  Acts  19.  29,  Rom.  16.  2S. 

Carpus,  of  Berytus  in  'I'hrace. 

Cephas,  Bishop  ot  Konia. 

Clemens,  of  Sardinia. 

Cleophas,  of  Jerusalem;  Luke  24.  18. 

Crescens,  of  Chalcedon,  in  Galatia. 

Demas,  a  priest  of  idols;  who  became  apostatCi  2  Tim. 4.  9. 

Epaeneius,  of  Carthage;  Rom.  16.  5. 

Epaphroditus,  of  Andriace. 

Erastus,  of  Paneas,  tr  of  the  Philippians. 

tvodias,  of  Antioch. 

Hernias,  of  Philippi,  or  Philippolis. 

Hermes,  of  Dalmatia. 

Hermogenes,  who  followed  Simon  Magus. 

Hermogenes.  Bishop  of  the  Megarenes. 

Herodion,  of  Tarsus. 

Jam  s,  the  br  ther  of  our  Lord,  at  Jerusalem. 

Jason,  of  Tarsus. 

Jesus  Justus,  Bisliop  of  Eleutheropolis. 

Linus,  of  Rome. 

Luke^  the  Evangelist. 

Lucius,  of  Laouicea,  in  Syria. 

Maik,  who  is  also  John,  of  Biblopolis,  or  Biblus. 


RETURN  OP  THE  SEVENTY.  257 

And  he  said  to  them:  I  beheld  Satan  falling*  like  li^ht- 
ninj;  trotn  Heaven.  Lo!  (  gave  you  authority  to  tread 
on  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  on  all  the  power  of  the 
enemy,  and  nothing  shall  be  able  to  hurt  you.     Not- 

Mnrk,  the  Evangelist,  Bishop  of  Alexandria. 

Afork,  the  nephew  of  Jiurnabas,  Bishop  of  Apollonia. 

Matthias,  afterwards  the  Apostle. 

Narcissus,  of  Athens. 

Nicmior,  one  of  the  deacons:  he  died  when  Stephen  suffered. 

Nicolatis,  of  Satnaria. 

Olympius,  a  martyr  at  Rome. 

Oiiesiphorus,  Bishop  of  Corone. 

Parmenas,  of  the  Soli,  one  of  the  deacons;  Acts  6.  5. 

Patrobulus,  thesame  with  Patrobas;  Rom.  xvi.  14.  of  Puteoli. 

Philemon,  of  Gaza. 

Philemon,  or  Philip,  who  baptized  the  eunuch  of  Candace. 

Philologus,  of  Sinope. 

Phlegon,  Bishop  of  Marat'on. 

Phygellu:*,  of  Ephesus,  who  followed  Simon  Magus. 

ProchoruSf  of  Nicomedid,  in  Bithynta,  one  of  the  deacons. 

Pudens. 

Qiiartus,  of  Berytus. 

Rhodion,  a  martyr  at  Rome. 

Rufus,  of  Thebes. 

Silas,   'f  Corinth. 

Sylvanus,  of  Thessalonicaj  1  Thess.  1.  1. 

Sosipater,  of  Iconium. 

Sosthenes,  of  Colophon;  Acts  18,  17;  I  Cor.  1.  1. 

Stachys,  of  Byzantium;  Rom.  16.  9. 

Stephen,  the  first  martyr;  Acts  6.  5,  8,  and  7.  59. 

Tertius,  of  Ico.iium. 

Thaddaeus,  who  carried  the  Epistle  of  Jesus  to  Abgarus.^ 

Timon.  of  Bostra,  of  the  Arabians;  one  of  the  deacons. 
Trophimus,  who  suffered  martyrdom  with  St.  Faul. 

Tychicus,  Bishop  of  Chalcedon,  of  Bythiuia. 

Tychicus,  of  Colophon. 

Urbanus,  of  xMacedonia. 

Zenas,  of  Diospolis 
*The  destruction  of  his  kingdom  is  described  by  a  fall  from 
heaven,  in  a  phrase  familiar  both  to  sacred  and  proi'ane  writers. 
So  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  Isaiah  xiv.  12.  "How  art  thou  fallen 
from  heaven,  0  Lucifer!"  And  when  Pompey  was  overthrown, 
he  is  said  by  Cicero  to  have  fallen  from  the  stars.  Erasmus 
thinks  our  Lord  here  cautions  the  Seventy  against  pride,  the 
cause  ufbatan's  downfall. 


258  BETURN  OP  THE  SEVENTY. 

withstanding  rejoice  not  so  much  in  this,  as  that  your 
names  are  enrolled*  in  Heaven. 

At  that  instant  Jesus  was  exceedingly  joyful  in  spirit 
and  said:  O  Father,  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth,  1  adore 
thee,  because  thou  hast  revealed  those  thinjjs  to  babes, 
which  thou  hast  hiddenf  from  sages  and  the  learned. 
Yea,  O  Father,  1  adore^  because  such  is  the  good  pleasure 
of  thy  council.  All  things  are  delivered  to  me  by  my 
Father;  and  none  except  the  Father,  knows  the    Son,J 

*  There  is  here  an  allusion  to  the  ancient  custom  of  enrolling; 
the  names  of  all  the  citizens  in  a  public  register,  that  the  several 
families  might  be  known,  and  the  inheritances  properly  preserv- 
ed. Jesus  informs  the  Seventy,  that  their  names  were  wri'tea 
in  the  book  of  life  or  register  of  heaven,  Rev.  3.  5,  and  that  the 
knowledge  of  their  election  as  heirs  of  salvation  and  immortality, 
should  be  the  chief  source  of  joy. 

t  We  have  the  same  idiom,  Rom.  vi.  17.  God  be  thanked  that 
ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  but  ye  have  obeyed;  the  thanks  are  not 
given  for  their  having  been  formerly  the  servants  of  sin,  but  for 
their  being  then  obedient,  Is.  xii.  1,  rendered  literally  from  the 
Heb.  is,  Lord,  I  will  praise  thee,  because  thou  wast  angry  with  me, 
thine  anger  is  turned  away.  In  interpreting  this,  our  translators 
have  not  been  so  scrupulous,  but  have  rendered  the  middle  clause, 
though  thou  wast  angry  with  me.  I  know  not  why  they  have  not 
followed  the  same  method  here.  Having  hidden  implies  barely, 
not  having  revealed,  Mark  iii.  4. 

29<?)o?,  as  used  by  the  Evangelists,  must  be  understood  as  equiv- 
talenttothe  Heb.  hacham,  which,  from  signifying  wise  in  the  pro- 
per sense,  came,  after  the  establishment  of  academies  in  the  coun- 
try, often  to  denote  those  who  had  the  superintendencj  of  these 
seminaries,  or  a  principal  part  in  teaching.  It  seems  also  to  have 
been  used  almost  synonymouslywith  scribe;  so  that  in  every  view 
it  suggests  ra.ther  the  literary  honours  a  man  has  attained,  than 
the  wisdom  of  which  he  is  possessed.  lvnro<;  answers  to  the  Heb. 
word  nabon,  which  is  more  properly  intelligent  or  learned  tliaa 
prudent;  and  both  refer  more  to  the  knowledge  acquired  by  study 
and  application,  than  to  what  arises  from  experience  and  a  g«iod 
understanding.  Accordingly  they  are  here  contrasted  not  with 
uupon,  fools,  but  with  vflTTtoK,  babes,  persons  illiterate,  whose  minds 
had  not  been  cultivated  in  the  schools  of  the  rabbis. 

Jlreneus,  who  lived  in  the  second  century,  commenting  on  the 
controversies  which  then  began  to  trouble  the  Church,  has  these 
remarkable  woi'ds:  "If  any  man  ask:  How  is  the  Son  produced 
from  the  Father?  We  answer  that  by  whatever  name  this  ineffable 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEVENTY.  259 

nor  does  any  one  know  the  Father,  except  the  Son,  or 
he  to  whom,  it  may  please  the  Son  to  reveal  hinn. 


gencra'ion  be  called,  no  man  knows  it,  neither  Valentinus,  nor 
Marcion,  nor  Saturninus,  nor  Basilides,  nor  Angels,  nor  Arch- 
angels, nor  Principalities,  nor  Powers;  none  can  know,  but  the 
Father,  who  begat,  and  the  Son,  who  is  the  Only-begotten."  This 
Iieneus  has  said  in  the  wisdom  and  spirit  of  his  Master,  and  I 
fear  not  to  increase  the  above  list,  with  the  approbation  of  my 
Lt)rd,  by  saying:  Neither  Arius,  nor  Alexander,  nor  Athana- 
sius,  nwr  the  Council  of  Nice,  nor  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  nor 
Soi  inus.  nor  the  Pope  of  Rome,  nor  Calvin,  nor  any  man  on  earth, 
can  know  the  Son  of  God;  and  therefore  all  inquires  and  contro- 
versies on  this  subject  are  without  the  blessing  of  heaven  or  any 
good  effect  to  mankind. 

What  Heaven  was  pleased  to  reveal,  on  this  important  doc- 
trine, satisfied  the  first  Christians,  and  should  continue  to  satisfy 
all  who  are  not  sinfully  curious,  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written. 
The  following  particulars  embrace  the  sum  of  what  has  been  re- 
veaU  d  to  man,  concerning  God's  Son, 

1  That  Jesus  was  truly  man,  a  descendant  from  David  by  nat- 
ural generation,  and  made  in  all  respects  like  other  men.  The 
Apostles  have  been  careful  to  provide  an  antidote  against  the 
poison  of  the  Docetae  and  Gnostics,  in  opposition  to  their  error, 
th:it  Christ  was  a  man  only  in  appearance,  they  expressly  declare 
him  tn  be  a  true  hutnan  being,  and  denounce  those  who  do  not  be- 
lieve this,  as  allies  of  anti-Christ,  and  enemies  of  Christ's  religion. 
John  1.  14.     Rom.  1.  3,  and  9   5,  Gal.  4.  4:  1  John  4.  3. 

2  That  Jesus  pre-existed  before  the  time  of  his  becoming  man, 
by  being  conceived  and  born  of  Mary.  This  doctrine  is  as  ex- 
pressly taught  in  the  New  Testament  as  any  other  doctrine  in  the 
whole  Christian  system.  See  John  I.  1 — 14;  and  3.  13,  31;  and 
6.  6v.  and  7.  27;  and  8.  42,  58,  and  17.  5;  Ephes.  4.  9,  10;  Col. 
1.  17;  Phil.  2.  G— -9;  2  Cor.  8.  9;  1  John  1.  2;  Rev.  3.  14.  See 
the  arguments  adduced.  Section  First  p.  10 — 17;  and  Section 
Forty-third,  p   192,  and  Section  Sixty-fifth,  p.  250. 

3  That  Jesus  is  of  a  nature  superior  to  angels,  and  belongs  to  a 
higher  order  of  being.  This  appears  clearly  from  the  following 
passages,  where  he  is  distinguished  from  angels.  Mark  13.  32, 
Luke  9.  26,  Heb.  1.  4,  5,  7,  8,  l3;  and  2.  2,  3,  compared  with 
Acts  7-  53.  rhe  same  doctrine  is  reasonably  inferred  from  all 
those  p  ssages  of  scripture,  which  represent  Jesus  as  the  Lord, 
ruler,  and  owner  of  angels,  Ephes.  1.  21,  Col.  2.  10,  1  Peter  3.  22, 
Matt.  13.41,  and  25.  31;  Mark  8.  38,  and  Heb.  1.  14,  compared 
with  Kev.  22.  16. 

4  Jesus  U  the  Son  of  God  by  ineffable  generation,  and  a  pecu- 


260  RETURN  OP  THE  SEVENTY. 

Come  to  me,  all  ye,  who  labour  and  are  burdened,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.*  Tike  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of 

liaritv  of  nature,  which  distinguishes  him  from  every  other  being 
in  the  universe.  Jesus  calls  G(kI  his  own  Father,  John  5.  18,  and 
the  Apostle  calls  him  God's  own  Son.  Now  the  application  of  the 
term  »Jio,-,  own,  being  never  made  to  anv  other  Son  of  God,  but 
Jpsus,  corroborates  the  use  of  the  terms  Only-begotten,  John  3.  16, 
First-born,  Col.  1.  15,  and  First- begotten,  Heb.  1.  6,  to  denote  the 
peculiar  nature  of  Christ's  Sonshiiv;  and  show,  that  the  voice  of 
God  from  Heaven,  proclaiming;  Jesus  his  beloved  Son,  ought  to  be 
ccmsidered  an  attestation  of  the  Son's  peculiar  origin.  See  Sec- 
tion Fiftv-third,  p.  193,  and  Section  Sixty-fifth  p.  250. 

T!ie  doctrine  of  the  divine  Sonship  of  Christ,  distinguishes  the 
Orthodox  Christirrn.  from  the  Sahellian,  the  .^rian,  the  Trinita- 
rian, <he  Socinian,  the  Deist,  and  the  Pagan  Idolater.  From  the 
Sabellian,  because  he  identifies  the  Father  and  the  Son,  contrary 
to  the  scriptures  which  make  him  distinct  and  derv'ed,  John  8. 
42,  and  5.  26;  from  the  Arian,  because  he  believes  in  the  creation 
of  the  Son  out  of  nothing,  contrary  to  the  scriptures  which  always 
speak  of  the  Son  as  begotten  not  made;  from  the  Trinitarian,  be- 
cause he  must  either  m  ike  the  Father  and  the  Son  the  same  being, 
or  two  distinct  and  independent  Gods,  contrary  to  the  first  prin- 
ciple of  both  the  Jewish  and  Christian  revela'ions;  from  the  So- 
cinian,  who  denies  the  existence  of  Christ  before  his  birth,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era;  from  the  Deist,  who  rejects 
the  Son  of  (rod  and  his  religion;  and  from  the  Pagan  Idolater,  be- 
cause he  worships  he  knows  not  what,  being  unguided  by  the  light 
of  Heaven  and  revelation. 

*  In  this  most  pathetic  and  interesting  address  of  our  Lord,  we 
may  notice  wiih  delight,  the  following  particulars:  1  The  invita- 
tion; Come  to  me,  take  my  yoke  upon  you,  learn  of  me,  or  be- 
come my  disciples.  2  The  persons  addressed.  3  The  motives 
to  compliance. 

1  The  ii  vitation.  Here  we  observe  by  way  of  caution,  that 
none  should  imagine,  that  the  gospel  is  such  a  dispensation  of  free 
grace,  as  excludes  works  or  exertion.  All  who  read  the  history 
of  our  Lord's  ministry  will  be  satisfied,  that  he  required  of  his 
disciples  entire  dedication  of  all  their  powers  and  faculties  to  his 
service,  and  this  dedication  to  be  made  in  the  face  of  all  opposi- 
tion, from  every  quarter.  Hence  he  who.did  not  deny  himself, 
and  take  up  his  cross  to  follow  Jesus  could  not  be  his  disciple. 
Neither  did  Jesus  conceal  from  any,  that  they  should  have  a  yoke 
to  bear,  even  the  strict  oaservance  of  his  com  uandinents,  1  John 
5.  3.  Those  who  have  imagined  that  the  Christian  liberty,  is  li- 
centiousness, are  farther  troin  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  than  the 
heathen  who  know  not  God  and  never  heard  of  his  Sun. 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEVENTY. 


261 


me;  for  T  am  meek  and  condescending;  and  you  shall 
find  rest  for  your  souls.*  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my 
burden  li«:ht. 


2  The  persons  addressed  are  all  mankind:  for  all  are  burdened: 
The  Jews  were  oppressed  by  ceremonies  and  useless  traditions, 
which  could  not  profit  tliem,  Gal.  5.  1,  Acts  15,  10;  for  even  the 
sacrifices  did  not  make  the  persons  offering  them  perfect.  The 
Gentile  world  were  burdened  by  vain  superstitions,  which  afford- 
ed noadvanta2;e,but  rather  contributed  to  an  immoral  and  wicked 
life.  But  the  invitation  is  emphatically  addressed  to  those, 
whethf^r  Jews  or  Gentilrs,  \xho  feel  their  burdens,  and  are  earnest- 
ly seeking  deliverance  from  sin  and  temptation.     Ps.  32.  4.  38.  5. 

3  The  encouragement,  Jesus  is  meek  and  lowly,  in  opposition 
to  the  pride  and  oppression  of  the  Pharisees,  who  despised  the 
meek.  Matt.  23.  4—7.  His  Yoke  is  easy.  "The  precepts  of 
Jej^u*  says  Grotius  are  such  as  are  adapted  to  the  nature  of  man; 
for  they' consist  in  loving  God  and  man.  If  one  man  accustom 
hiuistlf  to  acts  of  righteousi  ess,  and  another  to  vice,  the  life  of  the 
former  shall  be  much  more  h.ippy  than  that  of  the  latter.  They 
pay  the  most  heavy  tax,  who  serve  ambition,  avarice,  and  lust.' 
Augustine  beautifully  observes:  "All  other  burdens  will  press 
and  grieve  the  bearer,  but  Christ's  will  raise  him  up.  All  o;her 
burdens  have  weight,  but  Christ's  has  wings;  they  whu  carry  it  re- 
ceive wings  to  fly,  and  find  that  they  are  pleasantly,  delightfully, 
and  rapturously  borne  away  from  earth  to  heaven." 

*'Thera6st  important  particular  in  this  interesting  portion  of 
scripture,  is  the  promise  that  those  who  come  to  Christ  shall  find 
re  t  for  their  souls.  Nothing  but  the  possession  of  divine  truth 
and  the  enjoyment  of  God's  approbation,  manifested  by  the  fellow- 
ship of  his  Son  and  Spirit,  can  give  the  soul  of  man  rest.  Stand 
ye,  in  the  ways,  savs  God,  by  his  prophet  Jeremiah,  chap.  6.  l6, 
and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way,  walk  therein, 
and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls.  God  has  made  the  heart  of 
man  for  himself,  and  nothing  can  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  soul, 
but  the  enjoyment  of  God. 


SECTION  SIXTY-SEVENTH. 

A  Teacher  of  the  Law  instructed. 

Then  lo!  a  certain  Teacher  of  the  Law  rose  to  try 
him,  and  said:  Rabbi,  what  must  I  do  to  mherit  eternal 


262  A  TEACHER  OF  THE  LAW  INSTRUCTED, 

life?*  Jesus  said  to  him:  What  is  written  in  the  law? 
How  doest  thou  read  He  answered:  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind; 
and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  Jesus  replied:  Tliou  hast 
answered  correctly;  do  this  and  thou  shalt  live.f 

*  Jesas  escaping  from  the  Jews,  on  his  way  as  he  left  the  city,  he 
was  joined  by  the  seventy,  who  had  come  up  to  attend  the  feast: 
and  whilst  he  held  the  conversation  with  them,  recorded  in  the  last 
section,  a  teacher  of  the  law  is  moved  with  envy  at  his  sayings,  be- 
cause he  intimated  that  the  Father  had  hid  important  truths  from 
the  learned  and  wise,  and  revealed  them  to  babes.  He  therefore 
resolves  to  try  our  Master's  skill  in  the  Law,  with  a  view,  no  doubt, 
of  convincing  the  people,  that  he  understood  the  doctrines  of  reve- 
lation as  well  as  Jesus.  Therefore,  on  hearing  Christ  declare  to 
the  Seventy,  that  their  names  were  written  in  heaven,  he  rose  and 
made  this  inquiry.  Now  as  our  Lord  usually  replied  to  questions 
proposed  by  the  Jews,  by  referring  to  their  own  Laws  or  customs, 
he  soon  convinced  the  Lawyer,  that  the  wise  are  often  taken  in 
their  own  craftiness.  Job  5.  13. 

The  Keriat  Shema,  a  short  lesson,  read  every  morning  and  even- 
ing in  the  Synagogues,  containing  Deut.  6.  4,  5,  and  Lev.  19-  18, 
was  usually  written  on  the  Phylactories.  Our  Lord  therefor<^  re- 
torts the  question.  As  thou  art  a  Teacher  of  the  Law,  what  does 
the  Law  answer  to  such  an  inquiry?  and  as  the  Lawyer  probably 
delayed  to  reply,  our  Master,  pointing  with  his  finger  to  the  Law- 
yer's Phylactery,  asked  him:  What  doest  thou  read  there?  The 
Teacher  recited  from  his  Phylactory,  this  important  summary  of 
the  Jewish  Law,  and  Jesus  approved. 

t  Here  we  learn  that  eternal  life  was  always  connected  with  every 
revealed  dispensation  of  God,  but  as  it  could  be  only  obtained  by 
perfect  and  perpetual  obedience,  and  none  were  able  to  obtain  it 
in  this  way,  it  was  unnecessary  for  the  promise  to  contain  a  greater 
good,  than  could  be  merited  by  a  temporary  obedience.  Therefore 
life  was  promised  to  be  as  durable  as  that  obedience  on  which  it 
depended. 


SECTION  SIXTY  EIGHTH. 

Parable  of  the  good  Samaritan. 

But  the  Lawyer  dosirous  of  justifying  himself,  said 
to  Jesus:  Who  is  my  neighbour?  Jesus  replied,  A  cer- 


A  TEACHER  OF  THE  LAW  INSTRUCTED.  26^ 

tain  man  of  Jerusalem,  going  down  to  Jericho,  fell 
among  robbers,  who  stripped  and  wounded  him,  and 
went  away,  leaving  him  half  dead.  Now  accidentally  a 
certain  priest  went  down  the  same  way,  and  seeing  him, 
passed  by  on  the  farther  side.  Also  a  Levite  coming  to 
the  place,  saw  him  and  passed  on  the  further  side.  But 
a  Samaritan,  journeying  that  way,  seeing  him,  was  moved 
with  pity,  and  went  to  him,  and  having  poured  oil  and 
wine  into  his  wounds,  he   bound  them.     Then  setting 


In  attempting  to  discover  the  sense  of  a  parable,  we  are  required 
to  take  into  consideration  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  delivered, 
and  the  circumstances  that  occasioned  it.  We  finrl  here  that  the 
young  lawyer,  wishing  to  justify  himself,  and  considering  that  he 
had  observed  this  law,  as  far  as  it  related  to  the  Jews,  whom  he  only 
acknowledges  as  his  neighbours,  inquires,  "Who  is  my  neighbour?" 
Our  Lord  answers  the  question  by  a  parable,  in  which  the  duties 
we  owe  to  our  neighbour  are  forcibly  defined,  and  the  extent  of 
those  duties  pointedly  demonstrated.  We  are  taught  that  not  only 
our  acquaintance,  our  friends,  and  countrymen  are  included  under 
this  term,  but  that  our  very  enemies,  when  in  distress,  are  entitled 
to  our  sympathy,  our  mercy,  and  our  best  exertions  for  their  relief. 
The  Jews  held  the  Samaritans  in  utter  abhorrence;  in  order  there-r 
fore  to  impress  the  mind  of  the  inquirer  more  fully,  our  Saviour 
obliges  the  young  man  to  reply  to  his  own  question:  for  he  was 
compelled  to  acknowledge  that  he  who  showed  mercy  on  him  was 
his  neighbour.  Our  Lord  having  represented  to  him  the  extent  of 
the  law,  commands  him  to  follow  the  example  of  the  good  Samari- 
tan, and  to  go  and  do  likewise.  The  circumstances  mentioned  in 
this  parable  are,  by  many,  considered  as  real:  the  road  fi'om  Jeru- 
salem to  Jericho  lay  through  a  desert  infested  by  robbers,  and 
which  was  principally  frequented  by  Priests  and  Levites,  iu  their 
journeyings  from  the  latter  to  the  former  place.  Lightfoot  and  Gill 
produce  passages  from  Jewish  authors  to  prove,  that  12,0U0  Priests 
and  Levites  dwelt  in  Jericho  This  shows  how  natural  it  was  for 
Christ,  to  introduce  a  Priest  and  Levite  in  this  parable,  without  the 
least  intention  of  reflecting  on  their  character  or  office.  The  par- 
able itself  has  been  variously  interpreted,  and  by  some  comnienta- 
tois  It  is  supposed  to  relate  to  the  compassionate  love  shown  to 
m;uikind  by  Christ,  who  was  called  by  the  Jews  a  Samaritan.  In 
whatever  way  we  consider  it,  the  duty  it  inculcates  is  most  evident, 
and  the  parable  must  be  regarded  as  a  beautiful  exemplification  of 
the  law  "ot  loving  our  neighbour  as  ourselves,"  without  any  dis- 
tinction of  person,  country,  or  party. 


264>  PARABLE  OF  THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN. 

him  on  his  own  beast,  he  took  care  of  iiim,  and  brought 
him  to  an  inn.  And  on  the  next  morning,  he  gave  two 
denaries  to  the  Inn-keeper,  and  said:  Take  care  of  this 
man,  and  whatever  more  thou  spendest,  I  will  repay 
thee,  when  1  return.  Now  which  of  these  three,  think- 
est  thou,  was  neighbour  to  him  who  fell  among  the  rob- 
bers? The  La  yer  answered:  He  who  showed  pity 
on  him.     Then  said  Jesus:  Go  thou,  and  do  likewise. 

Jones,  with  other  commentators,  has  given  a  fanciful  illustratiou 
of  this  parable;  and  several  of  the  primitive  Fathers  have  adopted 
siniilar  arcommodations.  Ihey  suppose  the  certain  man.  to  signify 
Adiim — went  down  from  Jerusalem^  his  fall — thieves,  sm  and  satan — 
half -dead,  dead  in  the  spiiit  his  better  part — the  priest,  the  moral — 
the  Jjcvitp,  the  ceremonial  law,  which  could  not  afl'ord  relief— 
a  certain  Samaritan,  Chris — the  inn,  the  Church — the  two-p^-nce^ 
the  iaw  and  the  Gospel;  or,  as  others  conjecture,  the  two  Sacra- 
ments— the  Host,  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel. 


SECTION   SIXTY-NINTH. 

Martha's  Entertainment. 

But  as  they  procended  on  their  jotirney,  he  went  into 
a  village,*  where  a  woman  nanied  ^^artlla,  entertained 
him  at  her  house  And  she  had  a  sister  called  Mary, 
vho  sat  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  was  listening  to 
his  discourse.  But  Martha  harrassed  herself,  in  pre- 
paring an  ample  entertainment  And  she  said:  Master, 
doest  thou  not  care,  that  my  sister  leaves  me  to  prepare 
alone.'*  Bid  her,  therefore,  to  assi  t  me.  But  Je^us 
answering,  said  to  her:  Martha,  thou  art  anxious,  and 
perplexing  thyself  about  many  things,  when  only  ore  is 
needful;  hut  Mary  has  chosen  that  good  portion  which 
shall  not  be  taken  from  her. 


*  Our  Lord  had  only  procee'led  so  far  on  his  journey  from  Jerusa- 
lem after  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  as  to  arrive  at  the  village  of 
Beihaiiy,  where  Lazarus  and  his  pisters  Martha  and  Mary,  dwelt, 
John  li.  1.     Here  he  is  entertained  by  Martha,  who  having  no  less 


SECTION  SEVENTIETH. 

Christ  reproves  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 

After  Jesus  had  finished  a  discourse,  a  Pharisee  asked 
him  to  dine*  with  him;  and  he  went  and  placed  himself 
at  table.  But  the  Pharisee  observing,  was  surprised, 
that  he  did  not  wash  before  dinner.  Then  the  Lord  said 
to  him:  Now  ye  Pharisees  make  clean  the  outside  of  your 
cups  and  dishes,  but  within  ye  yourselves  are  full  of  ra- 
pacity and  malevolence.  Foolish  men,  ought  not  he  who 
cloanses  the  outside,  to  make  clean  the  inside  also? 
Only  give  in  almsf  what  you  possess,  and  all  things  are 
clean  to  you! 

Alas  for  you  Pharisees,  because  whilst  ye  pay  tithe  of 
mint  and  rue,  and  every  kind  of  herb,  ye  neglect  justice 
and  the  love  of  God.  These  things  ye  ought  to  have 
practised,  and  not  to  have  left  the  others  undone.  Alas 
for  you  Pharisees,  because  ye  love  the  chief  seats  in  the 
synagogues,  and  salutations  in  public  places.  Alas  for 
you,  because  ye  are  like  concealed  graves,  over  which 
men  walk  without  perceiving  them. 


love  for  the  Saviour,  than  her  sister,  wa«  desirous  of  providing  as 
amply  as  possible  for  him  and  his  hirge  retinue;  for  the  Seventy  had 
DOW  joined  his  company.  Jesus  advises  Martha  not  to  perplex  her- 
self about  preparing  many  dishes,  for  the  entertainment,  seeing  one 
kmd  of  food  was  all  thai  was  necessary;  and  as  Mary  had  preferred 
to  sit  and  listen  to  his  discourses,  to  any  other  part  of  the  entertain- 
ment, he  thought  she  ought  not  to  be  disturbed,  merely  for  the 
sake  of  preparing  a  greater  variety. 

*  It  appears  from  what  is  said  at  the  close  of  this  Section,  about 
the  attempts  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  to  ensnare  Christ,  and 
also  fr'im  what  passed  in  general  at  this  entertainment,  that  the 
invitation  to  dine,  was  given  by  the  Pharisee,  with  a  captious  in- 
tention. The  extreme  severity  with  which  Jesus  treats  the  whole 
company,  can  hardly  be  justified,  on  any  other  supposition.  Jesus 
without  sparing  the  wicked  plotters,  gave  them  no  opportunity  for 
acc<»mplishing  their  malicious  pui  pose. 

t  ^^  hat  Jesus  says  of  their  giving  alms,  is  not  advice,  as  some 
have  imagined,  but  the  high  toned  langua'je  of  satyr  and  ridicule, 
against  the  hypocritical  and  superstitious  fancies  ot  this  degener- 


266       CHRIST  REPROVES  THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES. 

.  Then  one  of  the  Lawyers,  interposing,  said:  Master 
by  saying  these  things,  thou  reproachest  us  also.  Jesus 
answered:  Alas  for  you,  lawyers  also,  because  ye  load 
men  with  burdens,  which  are  intolerable;*  but  ye  will 
not  touch  these  burdens,  with  one  of  your  fingers.  Alas 
for  you  teachers  of  the  law,  because  ye  have  shut  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  against  men,  and  taken  away  the 
key  of  knowledge.  Hence  ye  do  not  enter  yourselves, 
and  those  who  would  enter,  ye  hinder. 

Now  when  he  had  said  these  things  to  them,  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  began  to  be  greatly  enraged,  and 
to  provoke  him  to  speak  rashly  of  many  things;  lying  in 
wait  for  him,  and  seeking  to  catch  something  from  his 
mouth,  that  they  might  accuse  him. 


ate  sect,  who  imagined,  that  a  little  of  their  property,  given  in 
alms,  would  wipe  out  the  stains  of  vice  and  iniquity,  deliver  from 
Hell,  and  open  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  Jesus  tells  them  to 
cleanse  their  own  insides,  or  hearts,  and  their  outward  ceremonies 
would  be  more  congruous  with  their  character.  He  admits  that 
their  scrupulous  attention  to  smaller  things,  such  as  paying  tithe 
of  mint,  was  well,  if  proportionate  importance  were  attached  to 
primary  duties,  such  as  the  practice  of  justice,  and  the  exercise 
of  sincerity  in  the  worship  ot  God.  But  having  allowed  their  re- 
ligion to  dwindle  into  trifling  superstitious  rites,  they  were  like 
concealed  graves,  on  which  men  might  tread  unawares,  and  be- 
come defiled  by  the  contact  of  the  dead.  Truly  a  man  that  has 
lost  the  power  of  religion,  is  worse  company  than  a  dead  corpse. 

*  The  teachers  of  the  law  are  reproved  for  loading  the  people 
with  the  heavy  burdens  of  traditions  and  unavailing  ceremonies; 
and  for  their  false  views  of  scripture,  which  perverted  the  notions 
of  the  people  concerning  the  Messiah,  and  prevented  them  from 
believing  in  Jesus,  and  thus  entering  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


SECTION  SEVENTY  FIRST. 

Caution  against  Covetousness. 

Then  one  of  the  multitude  said  to  him:  Teacher,  bid 
my  brother  to  give  me  my  share  of  the  inheritance.  But 
Jesus  said  to  him:  Man,  who  appointed  me  a  judge  or 


Caution  against  Covetousness.  261 

arbiter*  over  you.  And  he  said  to  them:  Take  care  to 
preserve  yourselves  from  excessive  desires;  for  the  life 
of  no  man  depends  on  the  abundance  of  his  possessions. 
And  he  spake  a  parable  f  to  them,  saying:  The  farm  of 
a  rich  man  produced  in  abundance.  And  he  reasoned 
within  himself,  saying:  What  must  I  do?  for  I  have  no 
room  to  store  my  fruits.  And  he  resolved  in  this  man- 
Der.  I  will  pull  down  my  store-houses,  and  build  larger; 
and  will  put  in  them,  all  my  produce  and  all  my  goods. 
And  I  will  say  to  my  soul ;  Soul,  thou  hast  many  good 
things  laid  up  for  many  years.  Take  thine  ease,  eat, 
drink,  and  be  joyful.  But  God  said  to  him;  Thought- 
less man,  this  very  night,  thy  soul  is  demanded  from 
thee:  Whose  then  will  these  things  be,  which  thou  hast 
provided.  Thus,  every  one  who  is  amassing  treasures 
for  himself,  and  grows  not  rich  in  God. 


*  This  man  applied  to  Jesus  for  arbitration  in  the  dispute  between 
him  and  his  brother  about  the  division  of  the  inheritance.  Our 
Lord  does  not  decline  interfering  with  the  subject  because  he  in- 
tended to  show  that  he  and  his  Church  should  not  intermeddle  with 
t''e  judiciary  power.  But  he  would  not  be  concerned  with  their 
litigation;  1  Because  the  law  of  Moses  had  expressly  regulated  the 
manner  of  disposing  the  inheritance,  Deut.  29.  17.  2.  Because, 
by  intermeddling  with  their  controversy,  he  might  have  favoured 
their  notion  of  a  Political  Messiah.  3.  Because  he  intended  to 
teach  that  in  the  Gospel  dispensation,  the  civil  and  Ecclesiastical 
power  should  not  be  blended  as  in  the  Jewish  Theocracy.  4.  Be- 
cause he  would  not  afford  a  pretext  to  any  for  the  sequestration  or 
alienation  of  personal  property  under  a  pretence  of  favouring  the 
Gospel.  5.  That  he  might  show  that  his  oflBce  was  not  to  divide  an 
earthly  hut  a  heavenly  inheritance  among  the  sons  of  men. 

t  This  parable  is  full  of  celestial  instruction.  1.  The  text  of 
Jesus  seems  to  be  the  introductory  clause.  A  man's  life  does  not 
depend  on  his  possessions.  2.  The  illustration  or  parable.  A  man, 
already  rich,  receives  a  large  increase  of  wealth;  becomes  anxious; 
turns  an  epicure,  and  hopes  for  pleasure  by  the  indulgence  of  his 
appetites:  God  immediately  commissions  his  angels  to  arrest  him, 
anri  bring  him,  however  unprepared  and  unwilling,  before  the  bar 
ol  the  divine  tribunal,  to  account  for  the  use  he  made  of  his  riches, 
an'!  mental  and  bodily  faculties.  Alas!  He  is  poor,  and  wretched, 
apd  must  now  take  the  fate  of  devils.     Thus  Jesus  taught  the  man 


SECTION  SEVENTY-SECOND. 

Massacre  of  Galileans  by  Pilate. 

There  were  some  present,  who  informed  Jesus  of  the 
Gahleans,*  whose  blood  Pilate  had  mingled  with  that  oi 
their  sacrifices  Jesus  answering  said,  to  them:  Think 
ye  that  these  Galileans  were  the  greatest  sinners  in  all 
Galilee,  because  they  thus  suffered?  I  tell  you:  No; 
but  unless  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  perish  in  like  manner. 
Or  think  ye,  that  those  eighteen,  on  whom  the  tower  of 
Siloam  fell  and  killed  them,  were  sinners  above  all  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem?  I  tell  you:  No;  but  unless 
ye  change  your  minds  ye  shall  all  perish  in  like  manner. 


that  he  was  a  Judge  of  a  higher  tribunal  in  another  world.  3.  The 
application.  Thus  miserably  disappointed  shall  all  men  be  who 
look  to  any  other  quarter  for  happiness  except  the  peace  which 
flows  from  the  love  of  God,  and  t'  e  practice  of  the  christian  virtues. 
*Who  these  Galileans  were  is  not  certainly  known.  Josephus,  in 
the  eighteenth  book  of  his  Antiquities,  gives  an  account  of  some 
whom  Pilate  surrounded  and  slew  whilst  they  sacriti' ed,  but  he 
calls  them  Samaritans.  Baronius  and  Tirinus  say  they  were  Samari- 
tans by  birth  but  called  Galileans  because  followers  of  Judas  of 
Galilee^  Acts  5.  37,  who  raised  a  sedition  against  the  Romans,  and 
taught  that  it  was  unlawful  for  the  people  of  God  to  pay  taxes  to  a 
heathen  Ruler.  Pilate  slew  them  as  they  were  offering  sacritice  on 
Gerizim,  and  mixed  their  blood  with  that  of  the  victims.  But 
Grotius  says  Pilate  massacred  them  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
when  they  attended  the  festival,  and  thus  the  prediction  of  our  Lord 
was  accomplished  in  the  sl-iughter  of  the  Jews  at  the  feast  when 
Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  Romans.  The  persons  who  gave  in- 
formation to  Jesus,  had  no  doubt  a  captious  and  vile  design,  in  doing 
so  before  a  large  multitude.  If  Jesus  approved,  they  designed  to 
excite  the  prejudice  of  the  populace  against  him.  If  he  reproached 
Pilate,  they  would  have  accused  him  of  seditious  intentions;  and 
with  a  view  to  excite  his  sympathy,  or  cast  an  odium  on  him  and  his 
disciples,  they  call  them  Galileans.  Jesus  asked  them,  if  tbej 
imagined  that  these  unfortunate  men  were  the  greatest  sinners  in 
Galilee;  and  then  affirmed  that  they  were  not,  contrary  to  the 
Jewish  opinion,  that  such  calamities  only  befell  the  impious.  In 
retort  for  their  contempt  of  the  Galileans,  he  referred  them  to  io- 
habitaiits  of  Jerusalem,  on  whom  a  tower  had  fallen,  and  thereby 


SECTION  SEVENTY  THIRD. 

Cure  of  an  infirm  Woman. 

And  on  the  Sabbath  as  he  taught  in  one  of  the  Syna- 
go^ues,  lo!  a  woman*  was  present,  who  had  a  spirit  of 
infirmity,  which  had  bowed  her  down  for  eighteen  years, 
so  that  she  could,  in   no   wise,  raise   herself  upright. 


showed  them,  that  God  had  not  manifested  greater  dislike  to  the 
Galileans,  tlian  to  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem.  He  takes  this  occasion 
to  a.*sure  them,  that  if  they  did  not  change  their  minds  and  reform, 
they  would  peiish  in  like  manner.  This  prediction  was  literally 
accomplished  when  Jerusalem  was  taken,  for  a  multitude  of  their 
priests  were  slain,  whilst  offering  Siacrifices;  and  thus  their  blood 
was  mingled  with  their  sacrifice;  whilst  still  greater  multitudes  were 
buried  under  the  walls  of  houses  and  the  temple.  See  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  sixth  chapters.  Book  Sixth  of  Josephus'  Wars. 

*'•  Relative  to  this  woman  three  things  may  be  considered.  I.  The 
woman's  infirmity.  II.  Her  cure.  And,  111.  The  conduct  of  the 
ruler  of  the  synagogue  on  the  occasion. 

I.  The  woman's  infirmity.  1.  What  was  its  or/gin.''  Sin.  Had 
this  never  entered  into  the  world,  there  had  not  been  either  pain, 
distortion,  or  death.  2.  Who  was  the  agent  in  it.''  Satan;  thus 
God  has  often  permitted  demons  to  act  on  and  in  the  bodies  of  men 
and  women;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  principal  part  of  in- 
explicable disorders,  still  come  from  the  same  source.  3.  What 
was  the  nature  of  this  infirmity?  She  was  bowed  together,  bent 
down  to  the  earth,  a  situation  equally  painful  and  humdiating;  the 
violence  of  which  she  could  not  support,  and  the  shame  of  which 
she  could  not  conceal.  4.  What  was  the  duration  of  this  infirmity? 
Eighteen  years.  A  long  time  to  be  under  the  constant  and  peculiar 
influence  of  the  devil.  5.  What  was  the  e^'ect  of  this  infirmity? 
The  woman  was  so  bowed  together,  that  she  could  in  no  case  stand 
straight^  or  look  toward  heaven. 

II.  The  woman's  cure.  1.  Jesus  sari)  her.  Notwithstanding  her 
infirmity  was  great,  painful,  and  shameful,  she  look  care  to  attend 
the  synagogue  While  she  hoped  for  help  from  God,  she  saw  it 
Was  her  duty  to  wait  in  the  appointed  way,  in  order  to  receive  it. 
Jesus  saw  her  distress,  and  the  desire  she  had  to  worship  her  Maker, 
and  to  get  her  health  restored,  and  his  eye  affected  his  heart, 
2.  He  called  her  to  him.  Her  heart  and  her  distress  spoke  loudly, 
though  her  lips  were  silent;  and  as  she  was  thus  calling  for  help, 
Jesus  calls  her  to  himself  that  she  mav  receive  help.     3.  Jesus  laid 

35 


270  CURE  OF  AN  INFIRM  WOMAN. 

When  Jesus  snw  her,  he  called  her  to  him,  and  laying 
his  hands  on  her,  s;iid;  Woman,  thou  art  loosed  from 
thine  infirmity  And  immediately  she  became  straight, 
and  glorified  God.  But  the  ruler  of  the  Synagogue, 
being  displeased  because  Jesus  had  healed  her  on  the 


his  hands  on  her.  The  hand  of  his  holiness  terrifies,  and  the  hand  of 
his  power  expels  the  demon.  Ordinances,  however  excellent,  will 
be  of  no  avail  to  a  sinner,  unless  he  apprehend  Christ  in  them. 
4.  Immediately  she  was  made  straight.  This  cure  was,  1.  A  speedy 
one — it  was  done  in  an  instant.  2.  It  was  a  perfect  one — she  was 
made  completely  whole.  3.  It  was  a  public  one — there  were  many 
to  attend  and  render  it  credible.  4.  It  was  a  stable  and  permanent 
one — she  was  loused,  for  ever  loosed  from  her  infirmity.  5.  Her 
soul  partook  of  the  good  done  to  her  body — she  glorified  God.  As 
she  knew  before  that  it  was  Satan  who  had  hound  her,  she  knew 
also  that  it  was  God  only  that  conld  loose  her;  and  now,  feeling  that 
she  is  loosed,  she  gives  God  that  honour  which  is  due  to  his  name. 

111.  The  conduct  of  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue  on  the  occasion. 
1.  He  answered  with  indignation.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  demon 
who  had  left  the  woman''s  body,  had  got  into  his  heart.  It  is  not  an 
unfn^quent  case  to  find  a  person  filled  with  rage  and  madness,  while 
beholding  the  effects  of  Christ's  power  upon  others.  Perhaps,  like 
this  ruler,  he  pretends  zeal  and  concern  for  the  honour  of  religion: 
"these  preachings,  prayer-meetings,  convictions,  conversions,  &c. 
are  not  carried  on  in  his  way,  and  therefore  they  cannot  be  of  God." 
Let  such  take  care,  lest  while  denying  the  operation  of  God's  hand, 
they  be  given  up  to  demoniac  influence.  2.  He  endeavours  to 
prevent  others  trom  receiving  the  kind  help  of  the  blessed  Jesus — 
He  said  unto  the  people.  Men  of  this  character,  who  have  exten- 
sive influence  over  the  poor,  &c.  do  immense  harm:  they  oftes 
hinder  thetn  from  hearing  that  word  which  is  able  to  save  their 
souls.  But  tor  this  also,  they  must  stand  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  Christ.  Reader,  hast  thou  ever  acted  in  this  way?  3.  Jesus 
retorts  his  condemnation  with  peculiar  force:  Thou  hypocrite-^to 
pretend  zeal  for  (iod's  glory,  when  it  is  only  the  workings  of  thy 
malicious,  unfeeling,  and  uncharitable  heart.  Wouldst  thou  not 
even  take  thy  ass  to  water  upon  the  Sabbath  day?  and  wouldst  thou 
deprive  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  one  of  thy  own  nation  and  religion 
ot  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  upon  the  Sabbath.  Was  not 
the  Sabbath  instituted  for  the  benefit  ot  man?  4.  His  adversaries 
were  ashamed.  The  mask  of  their  hypocrisy,  the  only  covering 
they  had,  is  taken  away;  and  now  they  are  exposed  to  the  just  cen- 
sure of  that  multilu(ie  whom  tiiey  deceive,  and  from  whom  they 
expected  continual  applause.     5.  His  indignation  and  uncharitable 


CURE  OF  AN  INFIRM  WOMAN.  271 

Sabbath,  said  to  the  people:  There  are  six  days,  in 
which  work  should  be  done:  Come,  therefore,  on  these, 
and  be  healed,  but  not  on  the  Sabbath.*  Jesus  ans^ver- 
ing  said  to  him:  Hypocrite,  does  not  every  one  of  )  ju 
loose  his  ox  or  his  ass  from  the  stall  on  the   Sabbaih, 


oensure,  not  only  turn  to  his  own  confusion,  but  are  made  the  instru- 
ments of  the  editication  of  the  multitude — tkey  rejoiced  at  all  die 
glorious  things  which  he  did.  Thus?,  O  Lord!  the  wrath  of  .nan 
shall  praise  thee,  and  the  remainder  thereol  thou  shalt  restrain." 

*  The  design  of  the  Sabbath,  as  mentioned  in  Exod.  20.  « — 11 
and  in  31.  12 — 17,  where  there  is  a  repetition  of  the  statement, 
made  in  Gen.  2.  1 — 3,  was  to  exhibit  a  s}mbolic  acknowledgment, 
that  God  was  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  and  that  He  alone  is 
worthy  to  be,  and  ought  to  be,  worshipped.  Hence  the  same  pun- 
ishment was  attached  to  a  violation  of  this  institution,  that  there 
was  to  an  open  defection  from  the  true  God,  viz.  death,  Exod.  S5. 
2.  Num.  15.  32—36. 

In  addition  to  this  general  object,  there  was  another  of  a  subordi- 
nate kind,  viz.  that  men,  especially  slaves,  m^ht  rest,  and  be  re- 
fres'ied,  and  might  be  led  to  rejoice  in  the  goodness  of  God,  who 
gave  them  this  season  of  suspension  trom  their  toils,  Exod.  23.   12. 

Whether  the  practice  of  consecrating  the  Sabbith  originated  from 
what  is  stated  in  Gen.  2.  1 — 3.  is  a  question,  which,  while  it  has 
been  defended  by  some  has  been  disputed  by  others,  on  the  ground, 
that  there  is  no  express  mention  of  it,  previous  to  the  time  of 
Moses.  But  in  regard  to  this  point,  viz.  the  origin  and  antiquity  of 
the  Sabbath,  I  proceed  to  state, 

I.  As  we  find,  by  an  examination  of  the  Mosaic  laws,  that  the 
greatest  part  of  the  ordinances,  which  are  sanctioned  by  that  Legis- 
lator, existed  in  previous  times,  we  have  a  right  to  say,  the  proba- 
bility is,  that  this  was  the  case  in  respect  to  the  Sabbath  also. 

II.  What  we  should,  therefore,  naturally  expect  in  this  case,  is 
rendered  more  probable  by  the  expressions,  used  in  Exod.  20.  8— 
11,  where  the  command  runs  thus;  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to 
keep  it  holy.  For  these  expressions  are  of  such  a  nature  as  evi- 
dently to  imply,  that  the  eonsecratioo  of  the  seventh  day,  although 
it  might  have  been  omitted  for  a  time  during  their  residence  in 
Egypt,  was  not  a  new  thing  to  the  Israelites,  and  that  they  under- 
stood how  the  day  should  be  kept  or  sanctified,  and  were  able  to  do 
it,  if  they  were  so  disposed. 

Ill-  This  view  in  respect  to  the  Sabbath  is  further  confirmed  by 
the  ctrcumstance,  that  we  are  no  where  told,  what  things  are  to  oe 
done  and  what  are  to  be  omitted  on  ihat  day;  which  implies,  that 
the  duties  connected  with  it  were  known  fr«m  custom. 


372  CURE  OF  AN  INFIRM  WOMAN. 

and  lead  him  to  water?  And  ought  not  this  woman, 
being  a  ilaughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  has  bound 
these  eighteen  years,  be  Joosed  from  tliis  bond,  on  the 
Sabbath  day  ?  And  when  he  had  said  these  things,  all 
his  opposers  were  ashamed:  and  the  whole  assembly  re- 
joiced at  all  the  glonous  deeds  perforiued  by  him. 


IV.  There  is  mention  made  of  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath, 
before  the  formal  promulgation  of  the  Law  concerning  it  Irom  mount 
Sinai,  ExoH.  16.  22 — 80. 

V.  A  WKEK  occurs  under  its  appropriate  n-Ame  Shaboa,  as  far 
back  as  Gen.  29.  27,  and  we  further  find,  that  a  definite  period  of 
seven  days  occurs  in  Gen.  7.  4,  10:  8.  10,  12.  which  implies, 
that  one  day  o(  the  seven  was  marked  by  some  distinction. 

VI  As  the  very  nature  of  the  case  compels  us  to  believe,  that 
the  doctrines  of  the  Creator  and  the  creation  could  not  have  exist- 
ed at  so  early  a  period,  as  they  did,  without  a  revelation;  so  there 
is  f»r  from  being  any  improbability  or  inconsistency  in  considering 
Gen.  1.  1;  2.  2,  3,  as  a  simultaneous  revelation  in  regard  to  the 
Sabbath. 

VII.  That  this  was  the  case,  is  hinted  in  Exod.  20.  8 — 11;  and 
furthermore,  it  was  on  this  ground  only,  viz.  that  the  Sabbath  wag 
consecrated  previous  to  the  time  of  ]Vioses,  or  in  other  words, 
existed  from  creation,  that  we  are  able  to  account  for  the  fact,  that 
veiy  many  nations,  who,  it  is  certain,  did  not  take  the  practice 
from  the  Mosaic  Laws,  have,  in  sonte  way  or  other,  distinguished 
that  day,  Josephus  against  Apion,  IL  39. 

VIII.  'Ihat  the  Sabbath,  as  some  maintain,  was  consecrated  in 
commemoration  of  the  deliverance  from  Egyptian  servitude,  is 
no  where  asserted;  and  the  most  that  can  be  contended  for  on  this 
p('int,  is,  that  the  Jews  are  exhorted  to  remtmber  the  suftVrings, 
the}  endured  m  that  lai.d,iu  onler  that,  prompted  by  reminiscen- 
ces of  this  kind,  tl  e>  might  the  more  willingly  allow  the  rest  of 
Sabbath  to  their  servants  and  their  tattle,  Deut.  5.   14,  15. 

llu  statenient  which  is  made  in  Exod.  31.  13 — 17,  and  Ezek. 
20.  2(!,  21,  VIZ,  thai  the  l?^abbath  is  the  sign  of  a  covenani  be- 
tve«-r\  God  ar.d  the  Israelites,  nuans  merely  this,  that  God,  as  crea- 
tor,  ha<i  a  clHim  on  the  worship  of  the  Jtws,  that  He  was  fli>~p(ised 
to  txact  such  worship,  and  that  they  had  promised  to  render  it. 


SECTION  SEVENTY-FOURTH. 
Design  of  the  Parables. 

Then  Jesus  said:  To  what  shall  I  compare  the  king- 
dom of  Heaven?  It  is  like  leaven,*  which  a  Womaa 
took,  and  concealed  in  thiee  measures  of  meal,  till  the 
whole  was  leavened.  Ajrain,  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
like  treasure,!  hid  in  a  field,  which  when  a  man  discover- 
ed, he  kept  secret,  and  for  joy  on  account  of  it,  went  and 
sold  ail  he  possessed  to  buy  the  field.  Ag;ain,  the  king- 
dom of  Heaven  is  like  a  pearl  of  immense  value,J  which, 

*  The  gospel  is  here  compared  to  leaven  which  though  small,  in 
proportion  to  the  quantity  of  flour,  with  which  it  is  mixed,  yet 
fails  not  to  spread  its  influence  over  the  whole  lump.  Thus  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  small  in  the  days,  in  which  this  parable  was 
uttered;  but  Jesus  here  predicts,  that  it  would  prevail  over  all  op- 
position; and  spread  till  the  world  be  subjugated  by  its  renovating 
power.  The  reason  usually  assigned,  why  three  measures  of  meal 
are  mentioned,  is  this:  Three  Kabs  or  Seahs,  making  an  Ephah, 
was  the  quantity  generally  baked  at  one  time.  See  Gill  on  Matt. 
13.  33. 

t  The  kingdom  of  God  is  compared  to  hid  treasure,  to  show  its 
value,  and  its  tendency  to  enrich  the  mind  and  soul  of  man;  and 
also  to  intimate  that  it  comes  not  with  observation.  A  treasure 
is  generally  kept  concealed,  though  it  may  have  a  very  observable 
and  powerful  effect.  It  is  concealed,  because  none  can  find  it 
but  those  who  sincerely  seek  in  the  appointed  way,  or  know  its 
value  but  those  who  possess  it.  But  when  enjoyed  its  possessors 
manifest  their  esteem,  by  selling  or  sacrificing  every  thing  for  its 
sake.  The  kingdom  ot  God  within  us  is  the  most  valuable  trea- 
sure; but  it  is  hid  from  the  world,  even  the  most  wise  and  prudent. 
He  that  finds  if,  considers  it  more  desirable  than  all  the  wealth  and 
pleasure  the  world  can  afford. 

%  rhere  is  a  great  similarity,  in  this  parable,  to  that  of  the  hid 
treasure.  In  it  we  observe:  1  The  object  of  the  person  intro- 
duced. He  was  seeking  something  he  liad  not.  2  His  elevation 
of  mind;  he  sought  fine  pearls.  Many  seem  born  to  grovel  in  the 
miie,  and  never  to  raise  their  souls  above  the  eaith  and  sensual 
things.  3  He  found  a  pearl  of  immense  value,  and  showed  his 
esteem  b^  his  conduct. 

Those  merchants,  who  compass  sea  and  land  for  temporal  gain, 
condemn  the   slothfuiness  of  the  majurity  of  Chnstiaus,    who 


214.'  DESIGN  OF  THE  PARABLES. 

when  a  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls,  had  found,  he 
sold  all  he  had  to  purchase. 

Again  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  a  drag-net  cast 
into  the  sea,  which  incloses  fish  of  every  kind;  and 
which,  when  full,  they  draw  to  the  shore;  and  then 
sitting  down,  they  gather  the  good  into  vessels,  and  cast 
the  bad  away.  Thus  shall  it  be  at  the  conclusion  of  this 
life.*     The  angels  will  come,  and  sever  the  wicked  from 

though  they  confess  that  salvation  is  the  most  certain  and  most  ex- 
cellent of  all  treasures,  yet  se^k  with  greater  diligence  worldly 
possessions.  Alas!  for  him  who  expects  any  thing  more  amiable 
than  God,  and  more  worthy  of  his  affections,  or  more  capable  to 
make  him  happy.  We  should  consider  salvation  our  only  trea- 
sure, and  value  it  above  all  the  riches  in  the  world;  and  being 
convinced  of  its  super-excellent  importance,  we  should  be  always 
ready  to  part  with  every  thing  we  have  to  purchase  it,  when  sin- 
cerity and  duty  demand  the  sacrifice. 

*  This  parable  is  of  similar  import  with  that  concerning  the  wheat 
and  tares,  both  exhibit  a  picture  of  the  present  and  future  itate  of 
professed  Christians,  who  now  constitute  the  visible  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Here  therefore  three  particulars  merit  our  notice:  1  The 
present  state  of  the  Christian  Church.  2  A.  time  of  separation  be- 
tween the  true  and  merely  nominal  members.  3  The  state  of 
both  after  the  separation. 

1  The  present  state  of  the  visible  Church.  Jesus  who  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  Church  with  fishermen  of  Galilee,  often  alludes 
to  their  occupation.  When  he  called  them  to  follow  him  he  pro- 
mised to  make  them  fishers  of  men.  Since  that  time  he  has  sent 
out  his  fishermen,  into  all  the  world,  or  to  retain  the  figure  into 
all  waters,  wherein  is  found  the  breath  of  life,  to  collect  in  the 
drag-net,  as  many  as  possible;  and  thus  the  process  continues  to 
the  present  day.  Men  are  invited,  called,  and  pressed  to  enter 
into  the  Church  of  Christ;  foi  whatever  the  prophets  of  Baal  may 
affirm  to  the  contrary,  there  is  no  salvation  out  ot  the  Church, — 
no  other  name  by  which  we  can  be  saved  but  Jesus.  And  as  faith 
comes  by  hearing  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God,  none  can  hear 
w^ithout  a  preacher  or  the  lively  oracles  of  heaven  to  instruct  them 
in  the  way  of  salvation.  Not  only  therefore  are  Deists  and  infidels 
■without  the  pale  of  the  Church,  but  even  all  those  who  have  never 
heard  or  regarded  the  gospel,  whether  they  have  lived  in  a  Chris- 
tian country  or  not:  all  who  do  not  put  on  Christ  by  a  true  faith 
and  sincere  profession  are  without  hope  ot  that  redemption,  which 
is  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  As  no  fisherman  would  knowingly  col- 
lect bad  fish  in  his  net,  hence  the  care  of  a  true  Pastor,  in  forming 


DESIGN  OF  THE  PARABLES.  275 

among;  the  righteous,  and  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of 

and  ruling  a  Church;  but  as  the  fisherman  cannot  prevent  a  mix- 
ture in  his  net,  of  whose  contents  he  may  be  partially  ignorant  till 
brought  to  the  shore,  so  the  minister  must  submit  as  far  as  he  can- 
not discern  by  outward  appearance. 

2  The  time  of  separation.  M  the  end  of  this  life.  The  com- 
monly received  translation  says:  At  the  end  of  the  world.  Camp- 
bell says:  M  the  conclusion  of  this  state.  Wakefield  Jit  the  con- 
clusion of  this  as;e.  The  original  word  is  capable  of  this  variety, 
and  undoubtedly  often  means  age,  but  it  as  often  implies  life. 
This  can  be  clearly  proved  from  the  scriptures  and  best  Greek 
Classics.  Hence  Homer:  ETEiTa /lce  xa»  ^t'7ro^  «*«y.  11.  5. '685.  See 
also  Iliad  4.  478,  and  II.  16.  458.  A  similar  use  of  the  term  often 
occurs  in  the  scriptures.  OiKiTm  uttochk  rov  niuva,.  Septuag.  Deut. 
15. 17.  The  Lexicon  Hippocraticon  published  by  Henry  Stephens 
1564,  gives  for  mm,  h  0m,  on  the  authority  of  Galen.  Phavorinus 
gives  ♦)  ^ufi;  and  Herodotus  and  Sophocles  say  t£\£ut?it«»  t6»  anuivx, 
meaning  to  end  lifcj  or  die. 

There  is  no  better  definition  of  the  original  term  than  this:  It 
denotes  the  duration  of  the  subject  of  which  it  is  predicated.  Thus 
when  it  is  predicated  of  God,  it  implies  the  unbounded  eternity  of 
his  existence  "in  which,  according  to  Philo  De  Mundo,  there  is 
nothing  past,  nothing  future,  but  all  present."  In  this  sense  it 
answers  exactly  to  A.ristotles'  derivation  of  the  word  from  «e«  al- 
ways, and  w)t  existing.  Hence  the  prophet  says  God  iohabits  rov 
Mma,,  the  eternity.  Is.  57.  15.  And  the  Psalmist  says:  Thou  art 
God,  «9ro  Toi/  atwvo;  iu^  rov  euMvo^,  from  eternity  to  eternity,  Ps.  90.  2. 
That  is,  throug'iiout  the  unbounded  duration,  before  the  founda- 
tion of  this  world,  and  that  equally  unbounded  duration,  which 
will  succeed  the  present  calculation  of  time  by  the  motions  of 
this  planetary  system,  when  these  worlds  shall  be  no  more. 
Therefore  God  is  said  to  be  the  only  one  who  has  immortality,  1 
Tim.  6.  16,  in  whose  eyes  a  thousand  years  are  as  yesterday, 
and  accordingly  he  is  emphatically  denominated  the  everlasting- 
God,  Gen.  21    33;  Rom.  l6,  26. 

When  it  is  predicated  of  this  world,  or  used  figuratively  for  the 
world  itself,  it  implies  that  duration  of  time  which  extends  from 
the  creation  of  this  world  to  its  dissolution.  John  9.  32;  Acts  3. 
21,  Rom.  16.  25.  Hence  the  Jews  often  use  the  word  in  the 
sense  of  xocr/xoj  or  the  material  world,  Heb.  1.2,  ll.  3;  and  they 
frequently  speak  of  this  world  and  of  that  which  is  to  come, 
meaning  by  these  phrases,  the  duration  of  the  present  worlds  and 
the  eternal  world,  which  shall  follow;  or  from  the  time  the  world 
began  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  his  eternal  kingdom, 
which  shall  have  no  end.  Matt.  12.  32;  Mark,  10,  30;  Luke  l8. 
50;  and  Luke  1.  33,  Heb.  1.  8.     Hence  we  see,  that  the  word 


276  DESIGN  OF  THE  PARABLES. 

fire.     Weeping  and  gnashing  of  the  teeth  shall  be  there 

anev,  may  Ti^an  a  man's  lifetime^  the  age  of  this  world,  or  the  eter 
nity  of  the  Deity. 

Now  vvfiicti  of  these  durations  will  a  sound  understanding,  an 
honest  heart,  an  enliji^htened  mind,  and  a  sacred  res^iird  for  truth, 
ind'ice  a  commentntor  to  select  for  the  import  of  the  word  atwv,  in 
this  parable?  Not  the  longest,  for  of  that  duration  there  is  no  end, 
nor  beginning.  Not  the  age  of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom;  for  God  is 
the  support  of  hii*  throne,  Heb.  1.  8,  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall 
be  no  end,  Luke  1.  ^3.  Nor  can  a  reasonable  and  honest  man  ap- 
ply it  to  that  age  which  preceded  the  erection  of  the  Messiah's 
kmgdom,  nor  to  the.  Jewish  dispensation,  for  at  the  close  of  neither 
of  these  periods,  was  there  a  separation  made  between  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  the  wheat  and  darnel,  nor  the  good  and  bad  tishes. 
We  therefore  say,  the  end  ef  a  mans  life,  is  the  time  when  God 
sends  his  angels  to  demantl  the  soul  ol  the  sinner,  Luke  12.  20,  and 
to  receive  the  spirits  of  the  righteous,  Luke  23.  43;  2  (."or,  6.  8: 
and  Philip  1.  23:  2  Tim.  4.  8.  This  interpretation  agrees  best 
with  the  time  of  the  harvest,  wht'n  the  reapers  collect  the  wheat, 
and  the  time  when  the  net  is  drawn  to  the  shore,  and  the  good  fish 
collected  into  vessels,  and  the  bad  cast  away.  At  the  end  of  this 
life,  therefore,  O  man,  prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  and  be  received 
into  his  I'ellowship  and  Heaven,  or  cast  out,  to  share  the  fate  of 
devils. 

3  The  state  of  the  righteous  and  wicked,  or  believer  and  unbe- 
liever, after  the  separation.  In  this  parable,  as  well  as  that  ot  the 
wheat  and  tares,  the  destiny  of  all  mankind  is  not  brought  into  con- 
sideration, but  only  of  those  who  belonged  to  the  external  kmgdora, 
©r  visible  Church  of  Christ.  This  visible  Church  is  the  field  in 
which  the  seed  is  sown,  the  net  in  which  the  fish  are  caught;  and  as 
Jesus  says,  his  angels  will  gather  out  of  this  kmgdom  all  offenders, 
Matt.  13.  41,  it  is  plain  that  all  the  per«ons  spoken  of  were  pro- 
fessors of  Christ's  religion,  and  hence  neither  unbelievmg  Jews, 
infidels,  or  heatht-n,  are  the  subjects  of  discourse,  as  some  have 
foolishly  imagined.  In  order,  therefore,  to  treat  of  the  matter  dis- 
tinctly, mankind  should  be  divided  into  two  great  kingdoms:  1.  The 
kingdom  of  God  including  all  who  have  professed  obedience  to  the 
one  eternal  ruler  of  the  universe,  and  worshipped  him  by  the  light 
of  Revelation;  for  the  kingdom  of  God  among  men,  includes  all 
from  Adam  to  the  latest  of  his  posterity,  wl.o  have  been  the  reci- 
pients of  divine  favour  through  the  means  of  revealed  religion. 
2.  The  kingdom  of  this  Tvorld,  Luke  16.  8;  John  18.  36;  2  Cor.  4.  4; 
John  17.  14;  and  1  John  5.  19;  including  all  men,  of  all  ages,  who 
have  never  been  called  by  the  voice  of  revelation  into  the  Church 
under  the  Pat^riarchal,  Jewish,  or  Christian  dispensations.  These  are 


DESIGN  OF  THE  PARABLES.  211 

Jesus  said  to  his  disciples:    Have  ye  understood  all 


always   denominated  the  world,  and   thus  distinguished  from  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  who  are  called  out  of  the  world. 

The  Church  of  God  or  kingdom  of  Jesus,  considered  externally, 
includes  all  men  who  have  professed  true  religion,  and  been  united 
to  the  visible  Church  on  earth.  These  are  divided  into  two  classes. 
1.  All  those  who  have  experienced  the  power  of  religion  and  saving 
faith  in  this  life,  and  died  under  the  sense  of  divine  approbation. 
These  are  received  immediately  into  the  kingdom  of  glory,  arid  t'le 
presence  of  God.  Of  these  Paul  declares,  that  when  absent  from 
the  body,  they  shall  be  present  with  the  Lord,  2  Cor.  5.  8.  and 
Jesus  assures  us  they  shall  not  see  death,  they  shall  never  die. 
That  is,  they  shall  suffer  no  suspension  between  death  and  the  en- 
trance into  immortality  and  eternal  life,  John  8.51,  and  11.26. 
These  ascend  immediately  into  the  joys  of  their  Lord.  The  Church 
of  England  says  well,  that  when  Jesus  ascended,  he  opened  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  believers.  And  the  apostle  tells  us,  that 
when  he  ascended,  he  led  captivity  captive,  Ephes.  4.  8,  compared 
with  Ps.  68  18.  He  descended  into  Hades  and  took  thence  trom 
Paradise,  Elysium,  or  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  the  souls  of  the  faith- 
ful, to  the  mansions  prepared  in  the  higkest  Heaven.  Hence  we 
see  the  reason  of  Lazarus  being  carried  to  Abraham's  bosom,  one 
of  the  departments  of  Hades,  Luke  16.  22;  and  also  the  reason  why 
Peter  says,  David  had  not  ascended  till  the  day  of  the  Pentecost, 
Acts  2.  34j  because  Jesus  received  not  the  kingdom  till  after  his 
ascension,  John  7.  39;  and  Acts  2.  33;  and  the  immediate  effects  of 
his  inauguratioR  were  the  descent  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  release  of 
the  souls  from  Hades. 

Those  who  having  had  suffif'ient  opportunily  to  know  the  will  of 
their  Lord,  but  have  not  walked  in  the  Light,  nor  kept  the  com- 
mandments of  the  most  High,  arid,  therefore,  though  they  were  en- 
grafted into  the  living  vine,  at  least  apparently,  yet  having  not  yield- 
ed fruit,  they  are  accursed,  like  ihe  barren  tig  tree,  cut  off  from 
the  vine  at  death,  and  afterwards  the  angels  gather  them,  and  cast 
them  into  the  tire,  and  they  are  burned,     John  15.  6;   Heb,  6.  8. 

Here  let  it  be  observed,  that  the  hypocritical,  heretical,  rebellious 
and  tbrmal  professors  of  religion,  will  be  cast  into  -a  furnace  ofjire. 
This  comparison  of  Hell  to  a  furnace  of  tire,  originated  from  the 
custom  of  burning  criminals  alive,  and  also  from  a  usual  practice  of 
burning  chaff,  stubble,  and  unprofitable  herbs  of  the  field,  for  the 
heating  of  furnaces.  Hence  it  became  usual  among  the  Jews  to 
compare  Hell  in  the  world  to  come,  to  ix  fiery  furnace,  or  to  the^re 
of  Gehenna.  Thus  the  Jerusalem  Targum  paraphrases  Gen.  15.  17: 
"And  there  was  darkness,  aad  lo!  Hell,  which  is  prepared  lor  the 

36 


278  DESIGN  OF  THE  PARABLES. 

these  sayings?   They  answered:    Yes,*  iVTaster.     Then 
he  said  to  them:  Every  Scribe,!  who  is  instructed   for 


wicked  in  the  world  to  come,  as  a  furnace,  which  sparks  and  flames 
of  fire  surrounded;  in  the  midst  of  vvhich  the  wicked  fall,  berause 
they  rebel  against  the  law  in  their  life-time."  The  declaration, 
that  there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  represents  the  re- 
morse of  conscience,  the  tortures  of  mind,  the  sense  of  mexpre«si- 
ble  pain,  the  furious  rage,  and  black  desjjair,  which  the  wioKed 
shall  experience.  The  Institutes  of  Menu  r<-presont  the  wicked 
in  hell,  as  tortured  by  the  extremities  of  cold  and  heat,  tdl  they  are 
finally  destroyed  by  unconquerable  death.  Now  as  our  Lord  de- 
scribes the  fate  of  the  damned  in  the  same  language,  and  by  the 
same  emblems,  which  were  in  previous  and  general  use,  we  cannot, 
whilst  we  profess  regard  for  the  holy  scriptures,  avoid  the  conclu- 
sion: That  the  traditions  of  all  nations  of  antiquity,  Jeas,  Hindoos, 
Greeks  and  Rotnans^  originated  in  the  instructions  of  the  Creator, 
delivered  to  the  primeval  inhabitants  of  our  world,  and  acknowledg- 
ed and  sanctioned  in  the  ChristiiUi  religion,  by  the  authority  of  our 
Lord  and  Master.  See  what  we  have  saifl,  in  the  notes  of  the 
Thirty-third  Section,  pp.  146—152;  also  Gill  on  Matt.  13.  42;  and 
Clarke  on  Matt.  8.  12. 

*  I  have  chosen  to  place  here  some  of  the  parables  recorded  bj 
Matthew  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  his  gospel,  being  satisfied, 
that  he  has  done  with  the  parables,  as  with  many  of  our  Lord's 
moral  maxims,  which  he  collected  in  the  sermon  on  the  Mount, 
not  because  there  pronounced,  but  because  they  were  of  such  a 
nature,  as  to  suit  his  desire  for  classification.  As  Luke  relates 
parts  of  the  sermon  on  the  Mount,  on  other  occasions,  so  as  to 
show  that  Matthew  had  not  preserved  chronological  arrangement, 
so  here  he  places  some  of  the  parables,  which  Matthew  had  col- 
lected in  one  discourse  with  those  of  the  Sower  and  the  Wheat 
and  Tares.  It  is  manifest  from  Matthew's  own  account,  that  his 
arrangement  cannot  he  correct,  for  when  he  relates  the  parable  of, 
the  Sower,  he  relates  also  that  the  disciples  did  not  understand  its 
meaning.  The  same  he  says  concerning  the  parable  of  the  Wheat 
and  Tares.  But  when  Jesus  pronounced  these  parables,  collect- 
ed according  to  Luke's  arrangement,  the  Apostles  say  they  un- 
derstood all  these  sayings,  without  any  explanation.  Therefore 
it  is  evident,  that  these  parables  are  placed  too  early  in  the  histo- 
ry by  Matthew,  and  that  Luke  affords  a  help  to  their  proper  ar- 
rangement; for  by  this  period  of  our  Lord's  ministry  the  disciples 
had  become  as  Scribes  well  instructed  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

t  Every  Scribe  well  instructed  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven, 
brings  forth  divine  instruction  from  both  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New.     Jesus  is  the  author  of  both  dispensations,  and  no  man 


DESIGN  OP  THE  PARABLES.  279 

the   kingdom  of  Heaven,   is  like    a   householder,  who 
briMjijs  out  of  his  store  house,  things  new  and  old. 

And  the  disciples  asked  him,  saying:  Why  speakest 
thou  to  them  m  Parables.''  He  answered:  To  you  it  is 
given  to  know  the  secrets  of  the  kingdom  of  the  highest 
Heaven,  but  to  them,  it  has  not  been  granted.*  There- 
fore I  speak  to  them  in  parables,  that  seeing,  they  may 
not  perceive;  and  hearing  they  may  not  understand. 
Thus  in  them  is  fulfilled  this  prophecy  of  Isaiah:  Ye 
may  indeed  hear,  but  ye  will  not  understand;  Ye  may 
look  but  ye  will  not  perceive.  For  the  heart  of  this 
people  is  become  stupified,  and  their  ears,  dull  of  hearing; 
and  their  eyes  they  have  closed;  lest  seeing  with   their 

is  fit  for  the  ministry  of  Christ,  who  has  not  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  sacred  literature  of  both  Jews  and  Christians. 
Here  we  may  observe  that  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  connec- 
tion between  the  types  of  the  Old  Testament  and  their  sub- 
stances, in  the  New,  but  especially  between  the  sacrifices  and  the 
death  of  Christ,  is  of  primary  importance  to  the  Evangelical  min- 
ister. For  the  proper  understanding  of  both,  great  care  should  be 
paid  to  Jewish  history  and  antiquities,  and  to  the  Greek  and  He- 
brew languages.  Additional  to  these  essential  acquirements, 
the  knowledge  of  the  sciences,  as  far  as  possible,  especially  Natu- 
ral History  in  all  its  branches,  will  be  found  of  great  importance. 
But  after  ail  has  been  done  that  human  knowledge  can  effect,  the 
work  of  the  ministry  will  never  succeed,  without  the  most  de- 
voted piety  and  entire  dedication  of  soul  to  God  and  the  service 
ot  the  gospel;  for  without  the  most  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
nature  and  remedies  of  the  moral  diseases  of  the  soul,  a  minister 
shall  never  be  able  to  bring  out  of  his  treasury,  like  the  experi- 
enced and  benevolent  householder,  things  adapted  to  the  nour- 
ishment, health,  and  happiness  of  God's  family.  He  therefoie  is 
highly  bl  mable  who  does  not  lay  up  sufficient  store  of  spiritual 
food,  and  show  all  diligence  and  discrimination  in  its  distribution. 
*  The  reason  our  Lord  assigns  for  his  frequent  use  of  parables, 
has  induced  some  to  imagine  that  he  did  not  i  Uead  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Jews  But  surely  this  is  a  mistake.  All  that  is  impli- 
ed in  his  language,  or  that  of  the  prophet  to  whom  he  alludes  is, 
til  1  wliere  long  obstinacy,  religious  indiflferenco,  and  even  con- 
tenpt  of  God"s  messen:iers  and  instructions,  are  manifested  by 
auv  ,;erson  or  people,  God  may  circumscribe  their  means  of  spi- 
ri'ual  inipiovtMnent.  and  even  withdraw  them  akogether,  when  he 
pleases  J  lor  though  his  mercy  be  free,  it  is  sovereign. 


Z80  DESIGN  OF  THE  PARABLES. 

eyes,  hearing  with  their  ears,  and  understanding  with 
their  hearts,  they  should  repent,  be  converted,  and  for- 
given,* and  1  should  heal  them.  But  blessed  are  your 
eyes;  for  they  see;  and  your  ears;  for  they  hear.  Verily 
I  assure  you,  nniany  prophets,  kings,  and  righteous  men, 
have  desired  to  see  the  things  which  ye  see,  but  have 
not  seen  them ;  and  to  hear  the  things  which  ye  hear,  but 
have  not  heard  them. 

*  Here  Christ  intimates  the  process  through  which  a  sinne'^ 
must  pass  in  order  to  obtain  entrance  into  his  kingdom  and  glory. 
He  must  first  hear  the  gospel.  2  Attend  to  it  till  he  understand 
it.  3  He  must  be  led  by  it  to  such  a  knowledge  ot  himself  as  to 
induce  him  to  change  his  mind  or  repent.  4  This  change  of 
mind  must  lead  him  to  strive  in  the  use  of  means  for  God's 
blessing,  till  it  please  Jehovah  to  convert  his  soul,  and  dispense 
pardon.  5  Then,  but  not  till  then,  can  he  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God,  become  a  true  member  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth,  and  be 
pr  pared  for  the  appearance  of  his  Lord,  to  sit  down  on  his  right 
hand  in  judgment,  and  pass  from  the  judgment  to  a  mansion  of 
peace  beyond  the  skies. 


SECTION  SEVENTY  FIFTH. 

The  number  of  the  Saved. 

Then  one  asked  him:  Master,  shall  but  few  be  saved.''* 
He  said  to  them:  Agonize  to  enter  through  the  strait 

*  Whatever  were  the  motives  which  led  to  the  question  in  the  text, 
whether  it  was  proposed  by  a  friend  or  a  foe,  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining important  instruction,  or  with  a  captious  intention  to  ensnare, 
we  are  not  certain;  nor  does  it  much  concern  us.  The  question, 
notwithstanding,  is  truly  interesting;  and  its  solution,  as  far  as  we 
can  proceed  with  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  light  of 
heaven  to  guide  our  steps,  cannot  fail  to  be  acceptable  to  every 
rational  being,  who  feels  himself  a  dependent  and  perishing  crea- 
ture. 1  will  therefore  attempt  to  discuss  the  question,  in  a  laconic 
manner,  by  endeavouring  to  show: 

1.  What  is  implied  by  the  term  saved; 

2.  The  prerequisites  to  the  enjoyment  of  salvation; 

3.  That  comparatively  only  a  small  number  of  mankind  shall 
be  saved. 


THE  NUMBER  OF  THE  SAVED.  281 

gate;  for  many,  I  assure  you,  will  seek  to  enter,  and 
shall  not  be  able.  When  the  Master  of  the  house  shall 
have  arisen  and  shut  the  door,  and  ye,  standing  without, 


The  primary  object  of  our  inquiry  will  be  to  ascertain  the 
meaning  of  the  verb  Xw^ai,  in  order  to  proceed  with  greater  accu- 
racy in  the  discussion  of  the  question.  This  word  is  derived 
from  Loo?  or  laoc  contracted  Iw<,  which  answers  to  the  Hebrew 
Yasha,  and  signifies  to  preserve  or  keep  safe.  It  is  therefore  con- 
trasted with  AtoXXi//x»  to  perish  or  destroy,  2  Cor.  4.  3.  Zoo?  ?/*- 
pvat  n  amXiT^ai,  Homer.  Iliad.  B.  1.  V.  117.  Also  in  Isocrates 
Toi^?  )tiv^i,v£o>Ta?  £»  SaXaxfr)  lu^uv,  to  preserve  those  who  are  exposed  fo  the 
dangers  of  ihe  sea.  In  the  same  use  the  Psalmist  says:  Lord, 
thou  preservest,  Zw^^e*?,  man  and  beast,  Ps.  36.  6;  and  Paul  says: 
Except  ye  abide  'n  the  ship,  ye  cannot  be  safe,  a-udmon  ov  ^i/»«cry£, 
Acts  27.  31.  So  also  he  says  of  Israel,  a  remnant  shall  be  pre- 
served (ToiGnvaj.  Cebes  in  Tabula,  p.  11.  says:  Every  one's  genius 
shows  him  in  what  way  he  should  walk  «  IfiZEl® AI  fjuXXovatv  ev  ismi^ 
If  he  would  be  pres-erved  in  life.  Numerous  evidences  are  not 
necessary,  all  who  are  able  to  judge  must  know  that  to  preserve, 
is  the  radical  import  of  the  Greek  verb  translated  saved.  Ac- 
cording to  this  acceptation,  God  is  called  the  Saviour  or  preserver 
of  all  men  especially  of  them  that  believe:  for  though  he  preserve 
for  a  season  both  man  and  beast,  yet  the  promise  is  only  made  to 
those  who  call  on  God  and  fear  him:  and  in  a  more  exalted  sense 
will  the  declamtion  of  the  apostle  be  realized  by  the  believer, 
when  he  shall  .-ee  and  feel,  that  Christ  came,  that  his  life  might 
be  continued  and  made  happy,  when  the  hope  as  well  as  the  life 
of  the  wicked  and  hypocrite  shall  perish.  Job.  8.  13.  Prov.  2. 
22.     1  Peter  4.  18. 

2  The  second  use  of  the  term  which  most  frequently  occurs  is  to 
deliever.  Demosthenes  Orat.  in  Theocr.  Zon^EySat  TrXEovraj  ex  tov 
TTEXayy?,  To  deliver  sailors  from  the  tempestuous  ocean.  Zwo-aTw, 
Let  him  deliver  himself,  Luke  23.  35.  Master,  deliver  us.  Matt. 
8.  25.  Thy  faith  has  delivered  thee,  Luke  8.  48.  In  this  sense 
the  verb  is  very  generally  used  in  the  scriptures:  and  when  in 
the  middle  voice,  it  signifies  to  deliver  oneself  or  escape.  Acts  2. 
40;  Acts  27.  20.  Hence  to  save  any  being  means  uniformly 
either  to  preserve  him  from  evil,  or  deliver  him  out  of  it.  In  the 
application  ot  the  term  to  the  benefits  of  the  Mediator's  kingdom, 
we  see  men  exposed  to  sin  and  death,  but  by  deliverance  from 
these,  they  are  brought  into  a  state  of  salvation;  and  he  by  whom 
they  are  thus  preserved  or  delivered,  is  called  a  Saviour.  But  as 
all  who  are  delivered  from  sin  and  its  consequences,  are  brought 
into  a  more  exalted  and  happy  state,  by  the  redemption  which  is 


282  THE  NUMBER  OP  THE  SAVED. 

begin  to  knock  at  the  door,  saying:  Master,  Master, 
open  to  us,  he  will  answer:  I  know  ye  not.  Whence 
are  ye.-^     Then  ye  will  begin  to  say:   We  have  eaten 


in  Christ,  we  may  reasonably  add  a  third  signification  to  the  Greek 
term  Zu^u. 

3  Often  we  meet  the  word  in  such  construction  as  implies  the 
melioration  of  the  subject  of  salvation,  or  his  circumstance.  Thus 
the  persons  cured  by  Jesus,  were  saved,  Matt.  9.  22;  and  the  Co- 
rinthians were  saved,  when  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christianity. 
1  Cor.  7.  16.  In  this  use  of  the  term,  the  import  is,  that  an  im- 
provement has  taken  place  in  the  circumstances  of  the  persons 
saved.  So  in  this  Section,  the  language  of  our  Lord  clearly  im- 
plies, that  whoever  should  be  saved,  would  be  admitted  into  the 
kingdom  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  inherit  life  and  felicity  in  com- 
pany with  the  Patriarchs  and  Prophets.  We  conclude,  therefore, 
that  all  who  are  saved  in  the  Evangelical  application  of  the  term, 
shall  be  preserved,  that  \s  n hall  never  perish.  Secondly,  they  shall 
be  delivered,  they  shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst.  Rev.  7.  16.  nor 
complain  of  sickness,  Isaiah  33.  24,  nor  shall  they  die,  Luke  20. 
36;  and  thirdly,  they  shall  be  elevated  to  a  higher  rank  of  being, 
knowledge,  and  enjoyment.  The^i  shall  sit  down  at  table,  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  have  acce:*s  to  the  tree  of  life  and  the  river 
of  life  in  the  Paradise  of  the  blessed.  Rev.  2.  7,  and  22.  19. 
y^  e  conclude  therefore  that  all  who  are  saved,  are  delivered  from 
spiritual  darkness,  from  hardness  of  heart,  from  unbelief:  in  a 
word  they  are  emancipated  from  the  bondage  of  Satan,  the  ptnver 
of  sin,  and  the  government  of  the  passions,  and  are  preserved  by 
the  power  of  a  redeeming  God,  through  faith  to  salvation's  perfec- 
tion in  the  kingdom  of  immortal  happiness  in  Heaven. 

2  We  notice  in  the  next  place,  the  prerequisites  of  Salvation. 
Two  particulars  are  here  presented  to  view  in  our  Lord's  answer. 
1  The  disposition.  2  The  exertion,  necessary  to  ootain  entrance 
into  the  celestial  kingdom.  1  The  disposition  or  desire  mani- 
fested by  seeking  to  enter.  Though  all  that  seek  to  enter  shall 
not  be  able  to  prevail,  yet  none  can  enter  who  do  not  seek.  This 
is  clearly  implied  in  our  Lord's  address  to  the  Jews,  Luke  13. 
S4; John  5   40. 

1  lo  seek  admission  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ  implies:  1  The 
knowledge  ot  the  truth  revealed  to  mankind  by  Christ.  2  Faith 
in  him  and  in  the  reality  and  awful  certainty  of  a  Heaven  and  a 
Hell,  something  to  be  avoided  and  something  to  be  attained.  The 
first  kindlings  of  desire  must  be  produced  by  faith;  for  no  ratiorial 
being  can  be  induced  to  desire  or  action  without  motives.  Hence 
all  unbelievers,  and  ail  who  believe  in  the  certain  salvation  of  all 
men,  are  without  any  stimulous  to  action  or  excitement  to  desire, 


THE  NUMBER  OF  TFIE  SAVED.  283 

anH  drunk  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  hast  tau2;ht  in  our 
streets.  But  he  shall  say:  I  tell  you:  I  know  you  not; 
whencesoever  ye  are,  depart  from  me,  all  workers  of 


ami  therefore  we  unirormly  behold  them  as  dead  corpses,  in  a 
spiritual  sense,  indisposed  to, seek  or  act.  All  t  leretore  who  even 
seek  salvation,  must  first  have  heard  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  and 
secondly,  approved  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  announced  to  the 
world  in  the  gospel. 

2  Not  only  must  men  perceive  their  need  of  salvation,  but  seek 
it  with  all  their  might,  by  the  most  unremitting  and  perseverini; 
regard  to  truth  and  duty.  I  have  left  the  word  agonize  fnmi 
Ars?NIZOMAl  in  nearly  its  Greek  form,  knowing  no  other  word, 
that  sufficiently  conveys  the  meaning  to  the  English  ear.  The 
word  is  taken  from  the  contests,  wrestlings,  or  combats  of  candi- 
dates for  prizes,  in  the  Olympic  Games;  and  is  here  desig'ied  to 
denote  that  ardent,  strenuous,  and  persevering  energy  of  faith 
and  works,  necessary  to  att:iin  the  crown  of  im'iiortalitj,  and  an 
entrance  into  the  glory  and  happiness  of  Heaven.  Hence  Paul 
exhorts  Timothy.  Ayaivt^ou  rov  kxXov  ayuio.,  to  fight  the  good  fight  of 
faitii.  and  lay  hold  on  eternal  life,  1  Tim.  6.  12.  A.nd  in  the 
secotd  epistle  4.  7,  he  says  I  have  fought,  riywvto-jua*,  the  good  fijjht. 

The  Olympic  games  were  celebrated  in  honor  of  Jupiter  every 
fifth  year  at  Olympia,  a  city  of  Klis  in  Greece.  Not  only  the 
Greeks,  but  foreign  nations  in  great  numbers  from  Africa  and 
Asia  resorted  to  their  celebration  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm 
and  interest.  There  was  a  Brabeion  or  prize  oSered  to  the  con- 
queror, to  stimulate  the  contenders  for  victory.  To  this  Paul  al- 
ludes in  his  epistle  to  the  Philippians  3.  14,  when  he  says:  I 
press  towards  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus.  An  officer  ca.\\ei\  ^Igonothetes,  presided  at  tie 
course,  observed  the  conduct  of  the  contenders,  and  adjudged  the 
prize  to  him,  who,  with  strict  observance  of  the  laws  of  ihe  course, 
first  arrived  at  the  goal.  Hence  Paul  represents  the  Christian 
course  of  faith  and  duties,  as  a  race,  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  ^ngo- 
nothetes,  and  eternal  salvation  the  reward.  Accordingly  having 
observed  to  the  Corinthians,  that  many  might  run  in  a  race,  but 
only  one  could  obtain  the  prize,  he  advises  them  to  run  so  as  to 
obtain,  1  Cor.  9.  24.  In  like  manner  he  advises  the  Hebrews  to 
run  with  patience  the  race  set  before  them,  looking  to  Jesus  the 
Agonothetes,  who  would  judge  of  the  manner  of  their  ru  .ning, 
whether  it  exactly  agreed  with  the  laws  and  instructions  he  had 
prescribed,  and  would  certainly  adjudge  the  prize  to  him  that  in 
faithful  adherence  to  his  precepts,  should  become  victorious. 
Thus  aUo  Tfrtiiliiiin  addressing  the  Martyrs,  says:  Ye  are  about 
to  enter  on  a  good  contest,  agonem,  for  the  name  of  Christ.   The 


2Si  THE    NUMBER  OP  THE  SAVED. 

iniquity.     Then  will  ensue  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
the  teeth,  when  ye  shall  see  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and 


Living;  God  is  the  Agonothetes.  The  crown  or  Brabeion,  eternal 
g)ory  through  all  ages  of  ages." 

Having  now  some  idea  of  what  salvation  is,  and  of  what  must 
be  felt,  believed  and  done  before  we  can  attain  it,  we  easily  un- 
derstand how  it  happens,  that  some  seek  to  enter  the  kingdom, 
but  are  not  able.  Thej  either  do  not  truly  believe,  earnestly 
strive,  and  perseveringly  exert  themselves  in  the  Christian  du- 
ties, or  they  are  too  late  in  making  application;  any  of  which 
causes,  will  induce  the  Lord  Jesus  to  say,  depart  from  me,  I 
never  knew  you.  In  this  section,  Christ  alludes  to  the  broad 
roads  in  Judea,  leading  from  one  large  city  to  another,  which  were 
sixteen  cubits  broad,  and  crowded  with  travellers,  pursuing  the 
various  amusements  and  avocations  of  this  life,  whereas  the  pri- 
vate ways,  were  only  four  cubits  broad,  and  passed  by  few  peo- 
ple. He  compares  the  profession  and  course  of  the  Christian 
life,  regulated  by  his  precepts,  to  the  strait  gate  and  narrow  way, 
and  the  irregular  licentious  course  of  sinners,  to  the  wide  gate 
and  broad  way  by  which  many  pass,  because  popularity,  and  li- 
centiousness are  agreeable  to  the  pride  and  passions  of  the  unre- 
generate  men  of  this  world.  All  therefore  who  would  enter  into 
life,  must  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  by  a  sincere  profession,  and  walk 
in  him  the  straight  way,  by  strict  obedience  to  both  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  his  religion. 

3  We  come  now  to  the  proof  that  few  shall  be  saved,  and  an- 
swer the  question  agreeably  to  the  decision  of  God's  word,  not 
according  to  the  fancy,  wish,  or  creed  of  any  man  or  class  of  men: 
for  with  Chilingworth  we  say,  the  Bible  alone  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants. 

1  Few  are  saved,  because  few  have  been  called  by  the  gospel, 
which  alone  gives  the  knowledge  of  salvation.  Though  the  num^ 
ber  of  the  called  has  been  great,  and  but  few  of  them  chosen,  yet 
compared  with  the  vast  mass  of  mankind,  the  children  of  light, 
the  believers  of  revealed  religion,  have  been  but  few,  perhaps  at 
no  time  exceeding  one  out  of  a  hundred,  and  often  not  more  than 
one  of  a  thousand  of  mankind.  Now  to  say  that  a  man  can  be 
saved  without  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  is  to  contradict  the 
plainest  language  of  the  holy  scriptures,  John  17.  S;  Acts  4.  12; 
10.  6;  11 .  14  and  26.  1 8;  Rom.  10. 14,  17. 

2  Few  shall  be  saved,  because  few  are  true  believers.  There 
can  be  no  doctrine  more  explicitly  taught  than  this,  that  salvation 
is  uniformly  connected  with  a  sincere  belief  and  outward  profes- 
sion of  faith  in  Christ.  The  scriptures  expressly  declare:  He 
that  believes  not  shall  be  damned,  Mark  16.  16;  which  condem- 


THE  NUMBER  OF  THE  SAVED.  285 

Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets,  yea,  people  come  from    the 
East,  from  the  West,  from  the  North,  and  from  the 


mfion  includes  in  it.  exclusion  from  the  li^ht  of  life  immortal, 
J  il)n  3.  36,  and  exposure  to  the  wrath  of  God.  Hence  the  Apos- 
tle having;  reminde<l  the  Hebrews  of  some  of  their  nation,  who  did 
not  enter  the  land  of  promise,  because  of  unbelief,  warns  them, 
lest  for  the  same  reason,  they  should  fail  of  entering  into  the  rest, 
promised  in  th ?  gospel,  Heb.  3.  19,  and  4.  1.  Also  in  this  very 
passage  of  scripture  our  Lord  refutes  the  Jewish  presumption  that 
all  the  seed  of  Abraham  would  be  saved,  by  assuring  the  inquirer 
that  nothing  less  than  regeneration  of  heart  and  life  would  enable 
a  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God. 

3  Few  shall  be  saved,  becau-^e  few  have  made  that  solemn  ded- 
ication, and  preserved  that  continual  consecration  of  soul  and 
body  to  God  and  religion,  which  the  scriptures  require,  Rom.  12. 
1,  2;  I  Cor.  6.  19,  20;  and  10.  31;  Heb.  10.  25—39.  In  our 
Lord's  discourses,  he  describes,  the  way  to  immortality  and  bliss, 
as  narrow,  and  the  gate  or  entrance  strait,  and  the  number  that 
go  in  it  few.  On  the  other  hand,  the  road  to  destruction  is  broad, 
the  gate  wide,  and  many,  even  the  multitude,  walk  in  it;  There- 
fore as  few  enter  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth,  by  conversion 
from  the  errors  of  their  evil  ways,  and  after  making  a  solemn  pro- 
fession, walk  in  the  strait  path  of  self-denial,  freedom  from  pollu- 
tion by  the  world,  and  persevering  faith,  patience,  and  consecra- 
tion to  Christ  and  his  religion,  there  are  tew  that  shall   be  saved. 

Having  clearly  shown  that  only  few  shall  be  saved,  and  that  a 
vast  majority  of  the  human  race,  shall  assuredly  perish,  we  may 
notice  the  erroneous  opinion,  that  all  shall  be  saved.  The  Jews 
fully  persuaded,  that  all  Israelites  would  be  saved,  because  they 
were  the  offspring  of  Abraham,  fell  into  religious  apathy,  ;ind  a 
mere  external  form,  consisting  of  traditions  and  ceremonies, 
which  only  served  as  a  vail  to  cover  the  countenance  of  the  hypo- 
crite, Uui  Lord  assures  the  Jews,  that  their  relationship  to  Abra- 
ham would  not  profit  them,  unless  they  were  also  the  possessors 
ot  his  faith  and  works.  Now  tiiat  tlie  subject  here  discussed,  must 
relate  to  salvation  in  another  world,  is  manifest  from  the  follow- 
in,^  arguments.  1  The  gate  of  admission  to  the  visible  Churcii  or 
Christ's  external  kingdom  on  earth  i*  not  strait.  2  No  agonizing 
exertions  are  necessary  betore  admission.  3  Fhe  door  is  not  shut 
against  the  professed  friends  of  Christ,  in  his  Church,  as  those 
excluded  avowed  themselves  to  be,  by  saying  they  had  eaten  and 
drufik  in  Ins  piesence,  and  had  cast  out  demons  m  his  name. 
Notwithstanding  they  are  excluded.    4  Those  who  are  thus  ex- 

37 


286  THE  NUMBER  OF  THE  SAVED, 

South,  and  place  themselvps  at  the  table,  in  the  kingrdoiu 
of  Tod.  but  } ourselves,  who  were  sons  of  the  kingdom, 
cast  out  into  the  darkness. 


eluded  see  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  Prophets  ia 
the  kingdoni  of  God,  which  they  could  not  see  in  this  world.  Con- 
sequent!}' the  discourse  is  about  the  kingdoni  of  thi  Messiah,  in 
the  world  to  come.  Now  as  our  Lord  positively  declares,  that 
many  shall  be  excluded  from  that  kingdoni,  it  follows,  that  the 
doctrine  which  says  all  men  shall  be  a(lr)iitted,  and  all  shall  he 
saved,  is  directly  Opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  must 
therefore  be  the  doctrine  of  Anti-Christ. 

From  this  important  passage  of  scripture,  and  the  illustration, 
which  vve  have  given,  men  may  learn  the  Msvrdity ,  Injidelify,  and 
Prvfanily  of  that  erroneuns  doe'rine,  which    teat  lies  that  all  men 
shall  be  sared.     1  The  abstirdity  appears  in  the  supposition  of 
those  being  saved,  whose  whole  life  has  been  one  continued  devel- 
oj  ement  of  a  depraved  heart,  vicious  and  impure  dispositions,  di- 
abolical c(.nversation>,  and  whose  very  dying  hours  have  breathed 
irreverence  and  despair.     2  1  he  wJidelVy  \i-   nianite&t;  1  from  a 
total  contempt  of  the  scripture  testimony,  which  uniformly  dis- 
tinj;uishes  the  righteous  and  wicked,  by  their  lives  and  conversa- 
tions in  tins  voild.  and  their  different  destinies  in  Ihe  uvrUi  to 
ccme'^  2  frum  a  contemptuous  rejection  of  the  vni/oim  anavnan- 
iti  ova  faith  of  the  thriatian  Chinch^  in  ail  ages  from  its  founda- 
tion tothepiesent  time.     3  'Ihe  profanity  cannot  be  concealed, 
because  the  doctrine  cuts  the  thread  of  spiritual   life,  by  placing 
the  piidane,  the  blas|  hemer,  the  assiissm  in  the  family  of  (j(  d, 
rending  the  vail  of  God's  temple,  casting  holy  things  to  dogs,  and 
making  all  things  consnu  n.  and  consequently   unclean.     Truly 
the  pio]  agators  of  this  pestifi  rous  heresy,  are  they  tvho  niake  sad 
thi  people  oj  God^  and  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  Kzek. 
13.  22.     By  making  no  ditiereiice  betwe<  n  him  that  serves  God 
and  him  that  serves  him  not,ii  ey  degrade  the  song  of  the  redeem- 
ed to  the  same  rank  vith  the  obscene  niirth  of  the  libertine.     In 
a  w(ird  this  heresy  blights  with  the  breath  ot  Upas,  the  very  trees  as 
well  as  the  fruits  of  lighteousnes*"  in  both  the  n  oral  i.nd  religu/us 
world:  and  nothing  but  the  outstretched  arm  of  Almighty  I  od, 
c.  n  snatch  the  soul  from  ruin,  that  has  once  imbibed  the  intoxi- 
cating draft  of  a  delusion  so  lethal   and  srupifying.     May   the 
eternal  tod  pardon  the  writer,  tor  the  sin  of  having  promulgate  d 
this  doctrine,  iind   save  the  leader  from  its  destructive  influence. 
Awiy  all  leain  from  this  lesson,  that  if  the  di  lusi.  n,  that  all    Is- 
raelites would  be  saved,  sunk  the  Jews  into  the  most  deplorable 
state  ot  irreligiun  and  hypocrisy,  su   will  a  similar  delusion,  lull 


SECTION  SEVENTY  SIXTH. 

Jesus  dines  with  one  of  the  Rulers. 

And  it  happened  as  Jesus  went  to  eat  bread,  on  a  Sab? 
bath,*  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  ruKirs,  who  were  Phari- 
sees, and  they  were  maliciouslyf  watching  him,  lo!  a 
man  who  had  a  dropsyj  was  before  him.  And  Jesus 
said  to  the  Lawyers  and  Pharisees:  Is  it  lawtul  to  heal 
on  the  Sabbath ?§  But  they  were  silent,  and  he  took 
the  man,  and  having  healed  him,  he  sent  him  away. 


men  asleep,  till  thev  awake  in  the  horrors  of  despair,  when  G<»d 
has  shut  the  door  of  mercy  and  acceptance,  and  left  them  to  the 
worm  that  dies  not,  and  the  fire  which  is  not  quenched. 

*  The  Jews  celebrated  the  Sabbath  as  a  festival,  and  purchased 
and  prepared  the  best  viands  they  couUl  procure  for  the  Sabbath; 
though  they  generally  ate  only  twice  a  day,  yet  on  the  Sabbath, 
they  were  obliged  to  eat  three  meals,  one  in  the  morning;,  one  at 
noon,  and  a  third  in  the  evening.  In  honour  of  the  day  even  the 
poorest  man,  though  supported  by  alms,  was  obliged  to  observe  the 
three  feasts  on  tiic  Sabbath.  Each  man  was  recommended  to 
prepare  for  the  Sabbath  according  to  his  substance,  abundance  of 
food  and  liquors:  and  as  this  man  who  invited  Jesus  to  dine,  was  a 
ruler,  probably  one  of  the  seventy  Elders  composing  the  Sanhedrin, 
his  entertainment  would  be  large  and  magnificent. 

tThis  shows  the  baseness  and  deliberate  malice  of  these  Phari- 
sees. Under  the  mask  of  friendship  thoy  invite  Jesus  to  dine, 
and  they  maliciously  watch  him  contrary  to  all  laws  of  hospitality, 
and  probably  bring  the  dropsical  man  in  his  way,  that  they  might 
have  the  opportunity  of  accusing  him,  for  a  breach  of  the  law  con- 
cerning the  Sabbath,  if  he  should  heal  him.  Hence  they  are  silent 
when  Jesus  asks  them  whether  it  were  lawful  to  heal  on  the 
Saobath  day. 

I  It  is  not  stated  what  kind  of  dropsy  this  man  had.  The  dis- 
ease arises  from  a  preternatural  collection  of  watery  fluid  in  t!ie 
cellular  substance  or  cavities  of  the  body:  and  obtains  a  dift'er- 
ent  naoie  according  to  its  location.  When  the  fluid  is  diffused 
thioug-h  the  cellular  membrane  the  disease  is  called  Anasarca 
when  collected  in  the  head,  Hydrocephalus^  when  in  the  chest, 
Hydrothorax^  &c. 

§  In  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  the  following  circumstances, 
were  enjoined  by  divine  command.  1.  This  day  was  to  be  held 
sacred  as  a  day  of  worship,  in  memory  of  the  creation  of  the 
world  by  Jehovah,  and  and  also  as  a  day  of  repose  both  for  ma» 


288     JESUS  DINES  WITH  ONE  OF  THE  RULERS. 

Then  be  said  to  them:  Who  of  you,  having  an  ass  or 
an  ox,  which  has  fallen  into  a  pit,  will  not  immediauly 
pull  him  out,  on  the  Sabbath  day?  And  to  this,  they 
made  no  reply 

Then  he  gave  an  admonition  to  the  guests,  who  were 
pressing  to  occupy  the  first  places  at  table:  When  thou 
art  invited  by  any  one  to  a  marriage  feast,  do  not  take 
the  first  place  at  table,  lesi  a  more  honourable  gufst 
than  thou,  may  have  been  invited  by  him,  and  he  who 
invited  you  both,  say  to  thee,  give  place  to  this  man: 
and  then  thou  shouldst,  with  shame,  take  the  lowest 


and  beast,  that  they  might  be  refreshed,  and  not  have  their  bodily 
strength  exhausted  by  uninterrupted  labour,  Gen.  ii.  1 — 3;  Exod. 
XX.  10,  11;  Ezek.  xx.  20;  hence  the  celebration  of  the  Sabbath 
was  the  making  of  a  weeklj  profession  that  they  received  and  re- 
vered the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  was  closely  connected 
with  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Mosaic  law,  whose  object 
was  to  keep  the  people  from  idolatry,  and  to  maintain  the  worship 
of  the  one  true  God;  and  hence  also  the  punishment  of  death  was 
denounced  against  the  wilful  profanation  of  this  solemnity.  2.  On 
this  day  they  were  most  religiously  to  abstain  from  all  manner  of 
work,  Exod.  xx.  10,  xxiii.  12.  xxxi.  12 — 17;  xxxv.2;  Deut.  v.  14,  15. 
Jer.  xvii.  22.  It  was  therefore  unlawful  to  gather  manna,  Exod. 
xvi.  22 — SO,  to  light  a  fire  for  culinary  purposes,  Exod.  xxxv.  3, 
!Nun  b.  XV.  32 — 36,  and  to  sow  or  reap,  Exod.  xxxiv.  21.  To 
these  enactments  the  Jewish  doctors  added  a  variety  of  other 
regulations,  for  which  there  is  not  the  slightest  foundation  in  the 
law  of  Moses.  Thus,  it  was  formerly  accounted  unlawful  to  re- 
pel force  by  force  on  the  Sabbath  day,  1  Mace.  ii.  31 — 38;  and 
how  much  its  objiervance  was  strained  by  the  traditions  of  the 
elders  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  is  sufficiently  manilest.  Hence, 
we  find  it  was  deemed  unlawful  to  pluck  ears  of  corn.  Matt.  xii.  2, 
to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  nature,  because  that  was  a  species  of 
reaping.  We  learn  from  the  Talmudical  writers  that  it  was  un- 
lawful to  use  oil  medicinally,  though  they  allowed  it  as  a  luxury; 
the  anointing  of  the  body  with  fragrant  oils  being  then,  as  it  is 
now,  in  the  East,  one  of  their  highest  enjoyments.  It  was  a  tra- 
ditional rule  of  the  ancient  Jewish  doctors,  that  "whatever  could 
possibly  be  done  on  the  day  before,  or  might  be  deferred  until  the 
following  day,  ought  not  to  drive  out  the  Sabbath;"  an  excel- 
lent maxim  when  rightly  understood,  but  when  applied  to  cases  of 
infirmity  or  sickness,  they  manifestly  showed  that  they  did  not 
comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  divine  declaration — /  will  have 


JESUS  DINES  WITH  ONE  OP  THE  RULERS.  ^889 

place.  But  when  thou  art  invited,  go  to  the  lowest 
place,  that  when  he  comes  who  invited  thee,  h^  raay  say 
t()  thee.  Friend  come  up  higher.  Then  thou  shalt  have 
honour  in  the  presence  of  the  company  For  whop.ver 
exalts  himself,  shall  be  humbled,  and  he  that  humbleth 
himself  shall  be  exalted. 

He  said  also  to  him,  who  had  invited  him:  When 
thou  givest  a  dinner*  or  a  supper,  invite  not  thy  friends, 
thy  brethren,  thy  kinsmen,  nor  thy  rich  neighbours,  lest 


mercy  and  not  sacrifice.  In  chronical  diseases,  therefore,  of  which 
description  were  those  cured  by  Jesus  Christ  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
they  conceived  that  the  persons  who  had  so  long  strugt^led  with 
tliem  might  very  well  bear  them  a  day  longer,  rather  than  prepare 
medicines  or  in  any  way  attempt  to  De  cured  on  that  day.  The 
knowledge  of  this  circumstance  will  greatly  illustrate  the  conduct 
of  our  Lord  in  healing  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  particu- 
larly the  man  who  had  been  born  blind,  John  ix.  '1  he  rule  abf^ve 
stated  was  made  before  he  began  to  teach,  and  he  gladly  availed 
himself  of  the  first  opportunity  to  refute  their  erroneous  notions, 
and  expose  their  gross  prevarication  in  interpreting  many  of  the 
Sabbatical  laws.  Further,  seeing  it  was  prohibited  to  put  fasting 
spittle  upon  or  into  the  eyes  of  a  blind  man  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
our  Saviour  effected  a  cure  by  using  both  clay  and  spittle,  John  ix. 
6,  14,  to  show  his  divine  authority,  in  employing  means  to  human 
reason  the  most  improper,  even  on  that  sacred  day,  directly  in 
opposition  to  the  above  rule;  which  was  good  and  just  in  itself, 
but  hypocritical,  superstitious,  and  cruel,  when  applied  to  the 
case  of  healing  on  the  Sabbath,  Dr.  Wotton's  Misna,  title  Shab- 
bath,  pp.  101 — 103,  123.  The  services  of  the  temple,  however, 
might  be  perforued  without  profaning  the  Saboath,  such  as  pre- 
paring the  sacrifices.  Lev.  vi.  8 — 13;  Numb,  xxviii.  3 — 10;  Matt. 
xii.  5;  and  it  was  also  lawful  to  perform  circumcision  on  that  day, 
John  vii.  23. 

*  Solomon  says,  he  that  gives  to  the  rich,  shall  surely  come  to 
want,  Prov.  22.  16,  and  Pliny  says:  Give  to  thy  friends,  but  let 
it  be  to  thy  poor  friends,  not  to  those  who  need  it  not.  Faint 
traces  remain  of  indiscriminate  invitation  to  oriental  feasts.  The 
Ariibs  never  set  by  any  thing  that  has  been  brought  to  the  table, 
but  call  their  neighbours  and  the  poor  to  finish  ever^i  thing.  The 
Rabbis  say:  Job  had  an  open  door  for  the  poor  on  each  end  and 
side  ot  his  house,  that  they  might  enter  from  every  quarter.  An 
Arab  prince  will  often  diae  in  the  stre^  !  before  his  door,  and  call 
to  aii  'hat  pass,  even  beggars,  who  cume  and  sit  down.  Pococke 
and  Harmer. 


290  JESUS  DINES  WITH  ONE  OF  THE  RULERS. 

on  their  turn  the}  also  invite  thee,  and  a  recompense  be 
made  thee.  But  when  thou  givest  an  entertainment, 
invite  the  poor,  maimed,  lame,  and  blind;  and  thou 
shalt  be  happy,  for,  as  they  have  nothing  to  requite  thee, 
thou  shalt  be  recompensed,  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
righteous.* 


*  The  recompense  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just  must  be  some 
peculiar  favour  or  advancement  in  the  station  or  circumstances  of 
particular  persons,  and  heitce  it  toilows,  that  either  the  righteous 
will  be  raised  first,  or  that  there  will  be  inequality  of  circum- 
stances in  the  other  world  as  well  as  in  this  present  state.  It  is 
said,  we  are  saved  by  grace,  but  as  salvation  principally  con- 
si^ts  in  the  preserration  of  man  and  his  deliverance  from  moral 
and  physical  evil,  it  cannot  interfere  with  the  rewards  due 
to  works  of  faith  and  labours  of  love.  See  Section  Twenty- 
ninth,  p.  113. 


SECTION  SEVENTY-SEVENTH. 

Parable  op  the  Marriage  feast. 

On  hearing  this  one  of  the  guests  said  to  him:  Happy 
he  who  shall  eat  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God,*  Jesus 
said  to  him:  The  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  a  king, 
whi),  to  celebrate  the  nuptials  of  his  son,  made  a  great 
supper,!  and   invited  many.     And  at  supper  time,  he 


*  We  have  here  the  occasion  of  this  parable.  A  guest,  proba- 
bly the  only  one  at  table,  who  felt  interested  by  the  discourse  of 
Jesus,  having  heard  Christ  speaking  of  the  rewards  of  charity  and 
good  works,  in  the  World  to  Come,  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
Ri-ihteous,  exclaims:  Blessed  shall  the  man  be,  who  shall  eat  bread 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  This  man  did  not  as  some  vainly  ima- 
gine, confine  his  views  to  the  present  state  of  existence,  but  looked 
forward  to  that  future  state  of  retribution,  when  the  righteous 
Lord  will  rectify  the  irregularities  of  the  present  moral  king- 
dom, by  rendering  to  every  one  according  to  his  works.  See  the 
note  at  the  end  of  the  preceding  section. 

t  Tiie  divine  economy  of  the  Gospel  is  represented  by  a  feast, 
made  by  Jehovah,  the  King  of  Heaven,  Isaiah  25.  6,  to  celebrate 


PARABLE  OP  THE  MARBfAGE  FEAST.  291 

sent  his  servants  to  tell  those  who  had  beeii  invited,  but 
they  would  not  come.  Again  he  sent  other  servants*  to 
say  to  those  who  had  been  invited :f  I  have  prepared 
my  feast,  my  oxen  and  fatted  beasts  are  sacrificed,  come 
presently  to  the  marriage,  for  all  things  are  ready.  But 
being  indifferent,  every  one  began  to  make  excuse.  One 
said:  I  have  purchased  a  farm,  and  I  must  go  to  see  it, 
I  pray  thee  make  my  excuse.  Another  said:  I  have 
bought  five  yoke  of  oxen,  and  I  must  go  to  prove  them, 
1  pray  thee,  have  me  excused  Another  said:  I  have 
married  a  wife,  and  therefore  [  cannot  go.  So  they  went 
away,  one  to  his  farm  and  another  to  his  meichandise: 
and  the  rest  seized  his  servants,  abused,  and  slew  them.| 
But  the  servant  came,  and  related  all  things  to  his  mas- 
ter, and  when  the  king  heard,  he  was  incensed,  an  1  send- 
ing his  armies,  destroyed  the  murderers  and  burned  their 
city.     Then  said  he  to  his  servants:  The  entertainment 


the  espousals  of  his  Son  with  true  believers,  who  constitute  the 
brid*'  the  Lamb's  wife,  Rev.  21.  9,  and  are  there  called  to  the 
marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  prepared  by  the  Great  God,  Rev. 
19.  7  17.  The  consecrated  viands  of  this  feast,  are  all  the  bene- 
fits of  salvation  for  time  and  eternity;  but  they  are  the  eft'ects  of 
sacrifice;  for  as  all  the  slain  beasts,  under  the  Old  Testament  dis- 
pensation, typified  Christ,  so  all  the  blessings  of  the  New  dis- 
perisation,  are  the  result  of  the  incarnation  and  mediatorial  sacri- 
fice of  the  Lamb  of  God,  John  1.  29;  1  Cor.  5.  8. 

*  The  servants  employed  by  the  king  to  call  the  guests,  were 
the  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  disciples  uf  Jesus,  at 
the  fundation  of  Christianity;  and  subsequently,  all  the  true  and 
faithful  ministers  of  Jesus,  commissioned  by  heaven's  authority 
to  announce  to  *.inners,  the  wdl  of  God  to  jiive  repentance  and 
remission  of, sin,  through  his  Son  Jesus  the  Christ,  Acts  i3.  32, 
38,  39. 

t  Tlie  persons  who  were  first  invited  were  the  Jaws,  who  were 
called  by  the  prophets;  and  the  invitation  was  renewed  at  Sup- 
per timt,  by  Jesus  and  his  apostles. 

1  Their  indift'erence  and  contempt,  manifested  by  hypocritical 
apologies,  and  infidel  abuse  of  the  messengers,  2  Chron.  36.  16, 
gave  offence  to  the  kiny;,  who  to  resent  the  indignity  sliovvn  to  his 
son,  sends  forth  the  Rom  tn  armies,  destroys  their  ni.tio  i,  burns 
their  city  a.id  excludes  them  from  the  privilege  of  partaking  of 
his  marriage  feast. 


292  PARABLE  OP  THE  MARRIAGE  FEAST. 

indeed  is  ready,  but  those  who  were  invited,  were  not 
worthy;  therefore  I  declare  to  you,  that  none  of  them 
shall  taste  of  my  supper.  But  go  ye  into  the  streets 
and  lanes  of  the  city,  and  bring;  in  hither  the  poor,  the 
maimed,  the  lame,  and  the  blind.*  And  the  servant 
said:  Master  we  have  done  according  to  thy  orders,  and 
yet  there  is  room.  The  [Master  answered:  Go  into  the 
higjhways,  cross-roads,  and  along  the  hedges,  and  as 
marjy  as  ye  meet,  corapelf  to  co  ne,  that  my  house  may 
be  filled.  Accordingly  the  servants  went  out  into  the 
roads,  and  gathered  together  all  they  met,  good  and  bad, 
so  that  the  Hall  was  filled  with  guests.J  But  when  the 
king  came  in  to  view  the  guests,  he  saw  one  who  was 
not  clothed  in  a  wedding  garment,  and  said  to  him: 
Friend  how  earnest  thou  hither  without  a  weddmg  gar- 
nient.''§     But  he  was  speechless.     Then  the  king  said  to 


*  Those  collected  from  the  roads,  highways  and  hedges,  are  the 
Gentiles,  morally  poor,  lame^  and  blind:  an  awful,  but  a  just 
representation  of  the  heathen  world.  But  Jesus  came  to  seek  and 
save  that  which  was  lost,  Luke  19.  10,  and  15    10. 

t  The  importunate  expostulations  of  the  Gospel  ministry,  are 
here  described  in  strong  terms.  The  word  compel  does  not 
authorize  to  use  violence  but  intimates  that.  Ministers  have 
Heaven's  commission  to  use  every  exertion,  and  every  innocent 
importunity,  in  beseeching,  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  See 
Luke  19.  41,  42;  Rom.~9.  3,  and  10.  I;  2  Cor.  5.  11,  14,  20j 
2  Tim.  4.  1,  2. 

t  We  have  here  the  result  of  the  extension  of  the  call  to  the 
Geiitile  world,  and  the  importunity  of  God's  servants,  in  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation.  The  Hall,  the  visible  Church  was  filled 
with  guests:  but  alas!  for  them,  they  were  good  and  bad.  The 
Chur' h  is  the  field  in  which  grow  wheat  and  darnel,  the  drag- 
net, v\  hich  collects  all  the  fish  that  enter  into  it,  whether  good  or 
bad:  still  it  is  good  to  bring  them  to  the  banqueting  house;  for 
there  is  distributed  the  bread  of  life,  of  which  they  may  eat  and 
liv.>  for  ever. 

§  We  find  that  some  of  those,  who  came  at  the  solicitations  of 
the  servants,  were  not  clothed  in  a  wedding-garment.  It  was  a 
custom  in  the  East  for  the  wealthy  bride-^room  to  provide  long 
w,  ;te  garments  for  the  guests,  so  that  every  one  might  have  a 
robe  on  application;  consequently  it  was  a  mark  of  contempt  to 
appear  as  a  guest  without  one.     In  allusiou  to  this  ancient  cus- 


P  ARABLE  OF  THE  MAURI  AGE  FEAST.       293 

the  attendants:  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  him 
out  into  the  darkness*  where  will  be  weeping  and 
gnashinjif  of  the  teelh.  For  many  are  called  but  few 
chosen.f 


torn,  those  whom  John  saw  prepared  for  the  Marriaj^e  feast  of  the 
Lamb,  Rev.  19.  7,  8,  were  clothed  in  fine  white  linen,  which  he 
calls  the  righteousness  of  the  saints.  If  these  garments  were 
given  by  Christ,  the  bride  groom,  to  the  guests,  thej  were  his 
righteousness,  but  they  became  the  property  of  the  sain+s  by  mar- 
riage contract.  The  wedding  ga'-ment  is  that  justifying  righteous- 
ness, which  Christ  prof  u  dd  by  his  sacrificial  death,  and  which  is 
worn  >nly  ay  those  who  rely  on  the  merits  of  his  passion  for  ac- 
ceptance, ftence  we  can  easily  discover  who  they  are,  who  have 
not  this  garment.  All  Dtists,  who  though  they  attend  worship, 
despise  it;  all  those  who  place  r.'ligion  ia  mere  moj-a/tVy,  and  think 
the  white  robe  of  righteousness  unnecessary;  all  Hypocrites,  who 
have  nothing  of  re!'2;i'in  but  a  form.  These  will  be  despised  by 
God,  for  the  disrespect  shown  to  liis  Sun,  aad  excluded  from  the 
guest  chamber. 

*  Here  we  have  the  fate  of  those  who  have  entered  the  Church 
of  Christ  on  earth,  without  that  frame  of  heart  and  course  of  life^ 
which  are  agreeable  to  a  oincere  pnfession  of  his  religion.  God 
the  omniscient  Judge,  comes  to  inspect  the  guests;  for  whether 
infidels  believe  or  not.  there  will  be  a  day  of  Judo-ment,  in  which 
God  will  try  the  secrets  of  men's  hearts.  The  deceiver,  the  un- 
holy, and  unbeliever  shall  be  detected,  ar.d  cast  out  of  Christ's 
kingdom  into  the  darkness  and  despair  of  the  danined.  The  an- 
cient maniages  were  celebrated  in  the  night  season;  and  the  Hall 
or  guest  chamber,  was  briiliatiily  illuminated,  which  n.ade  the 
darkness  with  ,ut  doubly  gionmy.  Thus  the  Glory  and  Salvation 
of  the  Sdinis  in  liglit,  wiil  make  the  fate  of  the  accursed  more 
terrible.  Tiie  sense  of  what  is  losi,  will  render  the  p.ings  of  what 
is  felt,  more  cuttiojj;  and  poignant. 

t  The  called  and  trie  chosen  are  contrasted,  not  to  imply  that 
the  chosen  were  not  also  called,  but  to  siiow  that  a  mere  profes- 
8i<pn  of  religion,  amounting  to  a  formal  compliance  with  the  letter 
of  the  call,  wid  not  profit  a  man.  Gr'd  only  chocises  those  who 
aie  sensuie  of  their  eternal  oDlit^dtioii  to  his  mercy,  and  therefore 
consider  that  they  owe  their  wiiule  lives,  as  one  con Linual  sac.  lUce 
of  praise  and  sincere  obedience.  No  eternal  decree  stands  in  the 
way  of  any  man.  God  has  set  life  ana  death  before  us,  and  every 
man's  conduct  decides  his  fate. 

38 


SECTICrJ  SEVENTY-EIGHTH. 
Christians  must  renounce  the  World. 

As  great  multitudes  were  travelling  with  ban,  be  turn- 
ed and  said  to  tbem:  If  any  man  comt  to  me  and  bate* 
not  his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  childn-n,  and 
brethren,  and  sisters,  and  even  his  own  life  also,  he  can- 
not be  my  disciple.  And  whoever  does  not  follow  me, 
bearing  his  cross,  he  caniiot  be  my  disci}>le. 

Which  of  yon  intending  to  luild  a  tower,  does  not 
first  compute  the  ex p"  nee,  to  know  if  he  have  sufficient 
tot^!:ish  it;  lest,  having  laid  the  foundation,  and  being 
unable  to  finish,  he  become  the  derision  of  all  that  see 
it,  who  will  say:  This  man  began  to  build,  but  was  una- 
ble to  finish.  Or  what  king,  about  to  make  war  against 
another  king,  does  not  first  consult,  whether  he  be  able 
with  ten  thousand  men,  to  encounter  him  that  comes 
against  him  with'  twenty  thousand?  If  not,  does  he  not, 
while  the  other  is  at  a  distance,  send  an  embassy  to  sue 
for  peace.'^  In  like  ma:  ner,  whoever  of  you  does  not 
renounce  all  that  he  has,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple. 
Whoever  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 


*  To  hate  one  person  and  love  another  often  means  no  more  ac- 
cording to  the  Hebrew  iciiom,  than  to  prefer  the  one  to  the  other; 
the  negative  being  usfd  instead  of  a  comparative.  See  Gen.  £9. 
30,  31,  Deut.  21.  15—17:  Mati.  6.  24,  a>  \  10.  37;  Rom.  9.  13. 
Christ  would  deceive  no  man,  nor  would  he  have  any  man  to  de- 
ceive himself .  Therefore  he  plainl}' inf'oi'me<l  his  followers,  that 
if  they  were  not  prepared  to  renounce  all  that  fiesh  and  blood 
consider  desirable,  it  was  vain  for  them  to  profess  his  religion.' 
But  none  should  be  restrained  from  making  a  profess-ion,  on  this 
account,  for  he  that  does  not  make  a  profession,  as  well  as  he  that 
having  professe'l  Christ,  fails  m  fi^'elity,  will  be  equally  rejected 
by  the  Judge  of  all;  the  one  as  an  enemy,  the  other  as  an  apostate. 
Great  God  !  How  strait  the  gate  and  narrow  the  way  that  leads 
to  life  ! 

Difficiles  aditus  primum  spectantibus  ofTert; 

Sed  requiem  praebet,  fessis  in  vertice  summo. 


SECTION  SEVENTY  NINTH. 

The  Lost  Sheep  and  Drachma. 

As  the  Tax-gatherers  and  Sinners,  were  continually 
resorting  to  him,  to  hear  him,  the  Pharisees  and  Scribes 
murmured,  saying:  This  man  receives  sinners  and  eats 
"with  them.  Then  he  spake  this  parable  to  them.  What 
think  yc.?  If  any  man  among  you  have  a  hundred 
sheep,  and  he  lose  one  of  them  or  it  go  astray,  will  he 
not  leave  the  ninety-nine  in  the  wilderness  on  the 
mountains,  and  go  in  search  of  that  which  has  gone 
astray  and  is  lost,  till  he  find  \i}  And  if  he  find  it, 
does  he  not  joyfully  lay  it  on  his  shoulders;  and  when 
he  comes  home,  convene  his  friends  and  neighbours,  say- 


Among  the  Commentators  both  ancient  and  modern,  two  gen- 
eral opinion?  have  prevailed  concerning;  the  subjects  of  these  par- 
ables, viz:  The  Lost  Sheep,  Drachma,  and  Prodigal  Son. 

1  That  the  ninetv-nine  sheep,  nine  drachmas,  and  the  elder  son 
represent  the  Angefs,  or  inhabitants  of  the  upper  worlds,  who 
have  never  sinned,  and  are  ^^hercfore  called  just  persons}  and  that 
the  lost  Sheep,  Drachma,  and  Protiigal,  represent  ah  mankind, 
lost  in  A  'am;  for  whose  recovery,  the  Son  of  God,  became  incar- 
nate, and  suffered;  and  by  whose  gracious  interposition  the  pen- 
itent sinner,  like  the  lost  sheep,  is  sou2;ht,  and  carried,  as  on  his 
shoulders,  to  the  presence  of  Gud  and  the  holy  angels.  Hence 
there  is  joy  in  heaven,  on  beholding;  the  surf  ess  of  the  Mediator's 
kiny,dom,  in  the  reconciliation  and  salvation  of  mankind.  Of 
this  opini'm  were  A.morose,  Hilary,  and  Chrysostom;  and  so  pre- 
valent was  this  interpretation,  in  the  early  age  of  the  Church, 
that  in  the  days  of  Tertullian,  the  bottoms  of  the  sacram  ;ntal  cups, 
were  engraved  with  a  representation  of  Christ,  bearing  the  lost 
Sheep  on  his  shoulders.  This  interpretation  shows  that  the  Just 
persons  needing  no  repentance,  are  those  first  born  sons  of  light, 
who  never  fell  from  fidelity  and  purity;  it  also  raises  the  mind  to 
exalted  conceptions  of  the  perfei^tion  and  ex(ent  of  God's  intel- 
lectual kingdom,  ot  which  the  race  of  mankind  makes  but  an 
hundredth  part. 

2  Others  say;  That  the  Sheep  not  lost,  the  ninety-nine  right- 
eous persons,  and  the  elder  Son,  represent  the  Jewish  nation,  es- 
pecially the  Sciibes  and  Pharisees,  who  trusted  in  their  own 
righteousness  and  despised  othersj  and  that  the  lost  Sheep,  drach- 
ma, and  Prodigal  Son,  are  descriptive  of  the  Gentile  world,  con- 


2dQ        CHRISTIANS  MUST  RENOUNCE    THE  WORLD. 

ing  to  them:  Rejoice  with  me,  for  I  have  found  my 
sheep  which  was  lost?  Verily  I  say  to  you,  he  rejoices 
more  over  it,  than  over  the  ninety-nine  that  went  not 
astray.  Thus  I  assure  you:  There  will  be  greater  joy 
in  heaven,  over  one  penitent  sinner,  than  over  ninety- 
nine  righteous  persons,  who  rioed  no  repontance.  Even 
so  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father,  who  is  in  the  high- 
est Heaven,  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  be  lost; 
for  the  Son  of  man  is  come,  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost. 

Or  what  woman,  having  ten  drachmas,  if  she  lose  one 
will  not  light  a  lamp,  sweep  the  house,  and  search  care- 
fully till  she  find  it.^  And  when  she  has  found  it,  does 
she  not  assemble  her  friends  and  neighbours,  saying: 
Rejoice  with  me  for  I  have  found  the  drachma  which 
was  lost.  Thus  I  assute  you:  There  is  joy  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  angels  of  God,  for  one  penitent  sinner. 


verted  and  reclaimed  by  the  adjTiinistration  of  the  gospel.  To  this 
however,  it  is  objected  that  the  Jews  could  not  be  considered,  in 
proportion  to  the  Gentiles,  as  a  hunuied  to  one;  nor  could  they 
be  called  Just  persons,  needing  no  repehtance.  The  force  of  this 
objection  may  be  abated,  by  supposing  that  our  Lord,  for  the  sake 
of  the  argument,  concedes  to  -'..<.  Pharisee!;.,  their  boasted  holi- 
ness, and  admits  the  degraded  rank  of  the  heathen  and  profane 
world.  In  the  Parable  of  the  Mai  riaue  feast,  thu  whole  unbelieving 
Jewish  and  Chtistian  world,  by  far  the  gr tat er part ^  is  represent- 
ed by  one  man,  not  having  a  wedding  garment.  In  the  interpre- 
tation of  Parables,  the  fifth  r"'e  of  Glassius  ought  to  be  kept  in 
view,  "not  to  be  too  anxious  about  the  adaptation  of  every  word, 
or  part  of  the  parable  to  the  subject,  nor  their  accommodation  to 
the  spiritual  sense:"  Attention  to  the  general  scope  is  all  that  is 
necessary. 

The  design  of  the  parables,  is  easily  perceived.  Tax-gather- 
ers, heathens,  arid  profane  persons,  we.  e- held  in  such  aahorrence 
by  the  Scribes  aud  Pharisees,  that  to  converse  with  them,  or  to 
be  touched  bv  them,  was  believeu  lO  iiave  a  dangerous  and  impure 
tendency;  and  therefore  tliey  were  cont'idered  as  unworiliy  ttf  re- 
gard by  either  God  or  pious  men.  Our  Lord  hereby  intended  to 
show  them  their  mistake,  by  tleclarmg  the  merciful  disposition 
of  his  heavenly  Father  to  reclaim,  itud  save  even  the  most  de- 
graded aud  worthless  sinners.     Not  that  the  conversion  of  these 


SECTION  EIGHTIETH. 

Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

He  said  also,  A  certain  man  had  two  sons.*  And  the 
3'ounger  of  them  said  to  his  father:  Father,  give  me  my 
portion  of  the  estiite.  And  he  allotted  to  them  their 
shares  of  his  substance.  Soon  after,  the  younger 
son  gathered  all  together,  and  travelled  into  a  distant 
country,  and  there  wasted  his  substance  in  riotous  liv- 
ing. When  all  was  spent,  a  great  famine  came  upon 
that  land,  and  he  began  to  be  in  want.  Then  he  con- 
nected himself  to  one  of  tlie  inhabitants  of  that  coun- 
try, who  sent  him  into  his  fields  to  keep  swine.  And 
he  was  desirous  to  satisfy  his  hunger  with  the  carob- 
pods,  on  which  the  swine  were  feeding;  for  nobody  gave 
him  aught.  At  length,  coming  to  himself,  he  said: 
How  many  hired  servants  has  my  father,  wh(»  have  all 
more  bread  than  sufficient,  while  I  perish  with  hunger. 

\ilest  sinners,  is  to  be  prefeired  for  <heir  sakes,  but  as  a  means  of 
stopping,  more  eftectually,  the  flood -ij^ases  of'v'ce,  ar  d  displaying 
the  triumphs  of  -aiimanuers  kingdom,  over  the  bulwarks  of  Satan, 
and  the  chief  officers  of  hi's  kingdom. 

*  This  is  perhaps  otio  of  the  most  beautiful  and  instructive  of  all 
our  Lord's  paraoles,  and  abounds  with  important  and  practical 
lessons  for  the  use  of  mankiud.  Here  we  have  the  ingratitude, 
rebellion,  and  degeneracy  of  sinful  man,  portsayed  in  lively  dnd 
striking  characters,  and  the  amazing  condescension,  placability, 
and  mercy  of  the  Eternal  Parent  towards  his  errin;i^  and  rebellious 
creatures;  afftrding  the  most  appalling  prospect  to  the  sinner, 
but  the  most  encouraging  example  of  favour  and  compassion 
towards  the  penitent.  Here  we  shall  briefly  notice  the  following 
particulars. 

1.  The  Father  gave  the  Son  no  provocation  to  withdraw  from 
the  house  or  family.  God  nevtr  subjected  man  to  irresistible 
temptations,  nor  aay  fatal  decree,  or  cogent  necessity,  tending  to 
destroy  his  accountability  or  obligation,  fttan  was  made  yVee, 
liable  to  fall,  but  capable  of  stondins-  in  oledience. 

2.  The  toundalioii  of  sin  and  misery,  the  pride  and  self-suffi- 
ciency of  ignorant,  inexperienced,  and  adventurous  youth.  The 
son  had  abundance  and  felt  happy  at  his  father's  house,  as  he 
afterwards  acknowledged,  but  this  was  not  enoughj  his  own  will 


298         PARABLE  OF  THE  PRODIGAL  SON. 

I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  I  will  say  to 
him:  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  thee, 
and  am  no  longer  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son,  make  me 
as  one  of  ihy  lured  servants.  And  he  arose  and  went 
to  his  father.  But  when  he  was  yet  afar  off,  his  father 
saw  him,  and  had  compassion,  and  ran,  and  threw  him- 
self upon  his  neck,  and  kissed  him.  And  the  son  said, 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  thee,  and  am 
110  longer  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son.  But  the  father 
said  to  his  servants:  Bring  hither  the  best  robe  and  put 
it  on  him,  and  put  a  ring  on  his  finger,  and  shoes  on  his 
feet:  bring  also  the  fatted  calf  and  kill  it,  and  let  us  eat 
and  be  merry;  for  this  my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive 
again;  he  was  lost  and  is  found.  So  they  began  to  be 
merry. 

Now  his  elder  brother  was  in  the  field  walking  home. 
And  as  he  drew  near  the  house,  he  heard  rnusic  and 
dancing.     He  therefore  called  one  of  the  servants,  and 


and  propensities  mut  be  indulged,  and  in  order  thereto,  the  re- 
straint and  inspection  of  his  father  must  be  removed. 

3.  The  progress  of  the  sinner,  from  the  day  he  sets  up  as  his 
own  master,  and  casts  off'  the  admifiistration  of  Heaven.  He 
leaves  his  father's  house,  refuses  submission,  seeks  independency, 
and  hopes  to  escape  observation  or  remonstrance  by  absence;  but 
alas!  by  estranging  himselt  to  God,  he  loses  the  very  seeds  of 
virtue,  which  had  been  implanted  by  the  creative  power  or  pa- 
rental instruction  of  his  God.  Every  step,  in  the  way  to  self- 
government  and  sensual  gratificati(iri,'is  a  step  in  descent  to  mean- 
ness, misery,  and  Hell.  From  the  honour  of  a  palace,  the  purity 
and  dignity  of  the  saints,  his  degeneracy  degrades  him  to  the  rank 
and  fare  of  swine. 

4.  The  state  of  the  impenitent  sinner,  in  the  pursuit  of  ima- 
ginary pleasure,  and  practice  of  vice.  He  is  here  described  by 
the  wisdom  ot  God,  by  three  most  alarmina;  epithets,  Lost^  Mad, 
Bead.  The  first  and  last  of  these  characters  are  admitted  by  the 
father  in  the  account  he  gives  to  the  elder  son. 

5.  The  circumstances  of  the  recovered  Prodigal,  the  returned 
sinner,  are  set  forth  by  the  opposite  te:ms,  placed  in  contrast:  He 
is  alive,  found,  and  of  a  sound  mind.  And  what  is  more  than  all, 
he  is  again  in  his  Father's  house,  under  his  guiddnce,  inspection, 
and  care. 


PARABLE  OF  THE  PRODIGAL  SON.        199 

asked  the  reason  of  this.  He  answered:  Thy  brother 
has  returned,  and  thy  father  has  killed  the  fatted  calf, 
because  he  has  received  him  in  health.  And  he  was 
anj^ry  and  woii'd  not  go  in;  therefore  his  father  came 
out  and  entre  ited  him.  But,  he  answering,  said  to  his 
father:  The^e  many  years  1  have  served  thee,  without 
disobeying  thy  command  in  any  thing;  yet  thou  never 
f^avest  me  a  kid,  that  I  might  entertain  my  friends:  but 
no  ao/.er  did  this  thy  son  return,  who  has  squandered 
thy  living"  jn  pr  jstituto: ,.  than  thou  killest  for  him  the 
fat  d  calf  ?.»r,  repli'.u  the  father,  thou  art  always 
witij  me,  and  ail  that  I  liave  is  thine:  it  was  but  reason- 
able that  we  should  rejoice  and  b(j  nioi-rv;  bpf-ause  ll-is 
thy  brother  was  dead  and  is  alive  again;  he  v\as  lost  and 
is  found. 


6.  The  difference  of  opinion  and  feelino;,  experienced  by  this 
younger  son.  When  an  inexperienced  and  froward  joutli,  he  was 
full  of  self-sufficiency,  fond  or  experiment,  rash  in  decision  and 
headstronj^  m  the  pr.isocution  of  his  ovn  scheni-s.  WK.-n  a  de- 
generate sinner,  his  judgment  was  doiunged,  his  appetites  impe- 
rious, bt:<- his  soul  u!<5<ned  in  distiactinn  and  wretchednv-ss,  and 
his  mind  laj  in  fragments  of  broken  tbuught.  But  when  he  C'lme 
to  nimself,  he  saw  the  awful  cuntrast  of  his  former  and  present 
circumstances,  icsoives,  executes,  returns,  acknowledges  his 
folly,  is  pardoned,  icctpted,  feels  salvation,  and  rejoices  in  the 
company  and  felijwship  of  the  blessed,  preferring  one  day  in  the 
courts  of  God's  house  to  a  thousand  in  the  tents  of  sin. 


SECTION  EIGHTH  FIRST. 

Parable  of  the  unjust  Steward. 

Then  he  said  to  his  disciples,  A  certain  man  had  a 
steward,  who  was  accused  of  wasting  his  estate.  Havino- 
therefore. called  him  he  said:  What  is  this  that  I  hea*r 
of  thee.?  Render  an  account  of  thy  management,  for  thou 
shalt  be  steward  no  longer.  And  the  steward  said 
within  himself:  What  shall  1  do?  My  master  takes  from 
me  the  stewardship.     I  cannot  dig,  and  am  ashamed  to 


300  PARABLE  OF  THE  UNJUST  STEWARD. 

beg.  I  am  resolved  what  to  do,  that  when  I  am  dis- 
carded, there  may  be  some,  who  will  receive  me  into 
their  houses.  Havinj^  therefore  sent  for  all  his  master's 
debtors,  he  askf.d  one:  How  much  owest  thou  to  my 
master.-*  He  answered,  A  hundred  baths  of  oil.  Take 
back  thy  bill,  said  ihe  steward,  sit  -Jown  directly,  and 
write  one  foi'  fitty.  Th  u  he  asked  another:  Row  much 
owpstthou.'*  He  answered,  ;\.  I  un 'Ted  homers  of  wheat. 
Take  h?cV  thy  bill,  saiu  he,  and  write  one  for  eighty. 
Th';  master  commended  the  prudence  of  the  unjust 
steward;  for  the  children  of  this  world  are  more  pru- 
dent in  conducting  their  alfairs,  than  the  children  of 
li;^ht.  Therefore  I  say  to  you:  With  the  deceitful 
mammon  procure  to  yourselves  friends,  who,  after  your 
discharge,  may  receive  you  into  the  eternal  mansions. 

Whoso  is  faithful  in  little,  is  faithful  also  in  much: 
and  whoso  is  unjust  in  little,  is  unjust  also  in  much. 
If  therefore  ye  have  not  been  honest  in  the  deceitful,  who 
will  intrust  you  with  the  true  riches.''     And  if  ye  have 


In  this  Parable  Christ  teaches  his  disciples,  the  necessity  of 
prudence  and  fidelity,  bv  the  resemblance  of  their  office,  to  that 
of  a  Steward,  who  manages  or  superintends  the  property  and 
family  of  another.  He  shows  the  advantage  of  prudence,  in  the 
Steward's  ingenious  though  unjust  provision  against  contingency, 
by  the  Ui*e  he  made  oi"  his  mone;,  in  relieving  the  burdens  of  the 
poor,  and  recommends  them  to  make  the  be  i  use  of  the  mammoa 
of  unrighteousness  or  deceitful  rich'^;::  b'lt  he  also  declares,  that  the 
least  failure  in  fidelity,  as  in  the  conduct  of  this  man,  would  prevent 
their  enjoyment  of  the  true  riches.  There  are  many  who  imagine 
that  if  they  can  manage  their  Lord's  concerns  to  their  own  acivan- 
tage  without  his  Lnowledge,  they  act  a  good  part:  but  God  is 
omniscient  and  knows  their  abuse  oi  his  property.  He  discerns 
the  heart;  and  if  a  Steward  be  unfaithful  in  the  management  of  the  , 
things  of  this  world,  he  consider?  *'aat  he  would  be  unfaithful  in  the 
management  of  divine  things  in  a  more  extensive  degree,  were  he 
entrusted  with  a  more  unlimited  charge,  such  as  that  of  a  minister 
of  religion. 

Every  man  should  regard  himself  as  a  Steward  of  God,  entrusted 
with  all  he  possesses,  riches,  mind,  genius,  strength,  education,  in- 
fluence, and  opportunities  for  doing  good,  that  a  time  is  coming 
when  that  God  from  whom  he  has  derived  his  all,  and  who  now  olr- 


PARABLE  OF  THE    UNJUST  STEWARD,  301 

been  unfaithful  managers  for  another,  who  will  give  you 
any  thing  to  manage  for  yourselves? 

When  the  Pharisees,  who  loved  money,  heard  all 
these  things,  they  ridiculed  him.  But  he  said  unto 
them:  As  for  you,  ye  seek  to  pass  yourselves  among  men 
for  righteous,  but  God  knows  your  hearts;  for  that  which 
is  admired  by  men,  is  abhorred  of  God. 

serves  all  his  onovemerl?,  and  intentions,  will  bring  him  to  account 
for  the  use  or  al v.5P  >ftVeii),  and  i^-ward  or  punish  him  according- 
ly. If  any,  therefore,  .-^iiail  b?  found  to  have  dispersed  or  wasted 
their  Lord's  property;  howeve:  ^'^ell  thf^y  -nHy  have  acted  in  ac- 
quiring favour  and  app)obation  auioug  mes;,  God  ;viil  cnst  them  out 
of  office,  exclude  them  from  his  family  and  jsti  rice;  ?nd  si  iTerlhem 
to  perish  with  the  maminon  of  unrighteous,  or  unlawlul  gain,  which 
they  may  have  acquired.  O  how  many  imagine  they  are  doing 
well,  if  they  gain  the  smiles  and  approbation  of  the  world,  Ihuugh 
at  the  expense  of  God's  honour  and  a  good  conscience. 


SECTION   EIGHTY-SECOND. 

The  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus. 

There  was  a  certain  rich  man,  that  wore  purple  and 
fine  linen,  and  feasted  splendidly  every  day.  There  was 
also  a  poor  man,  named  Lazarus,*  covered  with  sores. 


*  Both  ancient  and  modern  Comrnentators  have  contended  about 
the  nature  of  this  narrative,  whether  it  should  be  considered  a.  par- 
able or  a  history.  Of  the  first  opinion  were  Theophylac,  Justin, 
Eucherius;  of  the  latter,  were  Ireneiis,  TertuUiau,  Origen,  Clemens 
©f  Alexandria,  Chrysostom,  and  Ambrose.  Rosenmulier  and 
Grotius  are  better  pleased  with  the  writer  Responsionum  ad  Oriho- 
doxos,  who  says,  it  is  neither  a  parable  nor  a  history,  but  rather 
a  Hypotyposis,  a  name  given  by  Rhetoricians  to  a  narrative,  in 
which  something  real  is  depicted  in  colours  of  probability.  If  it  be 
a  history,  it  is  a  narrative  of  what  has  been;  but  if  a  piirable,  or 
Hypotyposis,  it  is  a  description  of  what  may  be,  and  therefore  may 
be  considered  as  an  example.  Hammond  and  others  suppose  this  a 
parable,  because  they  imagine  they  find  something  like  it  in  the 


302  THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZARUS. 

who  was  laid  at  his  gate;  and  was  desirous  to  feed  on 
the  crumbs,  which  fell  from  the  rich  ii.an's  table:  yea, 
even  the  dogs  came  and  licked  his  sorts.  It  happened 
that  the  poor  man  died,  and  was  conveyed  by  angels*  to 
Abraham's  bosom:  the  rich  man  also  died,  and  was 
buried.     And  in  hades,f  being  in  torments,  he  looked 


GemHra  Babylonica,  a  cofty  of  wbirh  has  been  transcribed  by 
Sheringham  in  the  preface  to  a  buok  called  Joma:  but  Le  Clerc 
well  observes,  "that  there  is  nothing  of  resemblance  between  the 
narrative  in  the  Talmud,  and  that  of  the  go>pel,  except  a  rich  and 
poor  man,  who  are  the  subject  ort)oth;  in  all  other  respects,  they 
are  very  different."  On  the  other  hand,  Euthymius,  one  of  the 
Fathers,  asserts  this  narrative  to  be  a  real  history,  and  says  he  had 
this  rich  man's  name  J^ineusis,  from  a  tradiiion  of  the  Jews;  and 
that  he  lived  in  the  time  of  Chust,  and  therefore  Jesus  does  not 
give  his  name,  but  only  the  name  of  the  bogear,  Lazarus,  whi«-,h  ac- 
cording to  the  Jerusalem  Talmud  signifies,  God  is  my  help.  Lazer 
being  there  frequently  read  Eleazar,  of  which  Lazer  is  a  contrac- 
tion. 

*  From  the  Chaldee  ])araphrase  and  other  books  quoted  by 
Wetstein,  we  le;(rn  that  it  was  a  tradition  of  the  Jews,  that  the  souls 
of  the  pious,  were  at  death,  carried  away  by  angels  into  Paradise, 
which  is  here  called  by  Jesus,  the  bosom  of  Abraham.  See  also 
Josephus' account  of  the  Maccabees,  chap.  13.  The  three  phrases 
Paradise,  Garden  of  Ed'^n,  and  Abraham's  bosom,  were  used  by  the 
Jews  as  synonymous,  to  signify  the  place  of  the  blessed,  Luke  23. 
43.  The  enjoyments  of  Heaven  and  the  blessed,  are  frequently 
represented  in  the  scriptures  by  a  feast.  To  sit  or  recline  in  the 
bosom  of  another,  signifies  to  occupy  the  next  place  at  table,  as 
John  reclined  in  the  bosom  of  his  master,  John  13.  35. 

t  Because  of  the  diversity  of  opinion  and  fr^  juent  disputation, 
among  theologians,  concerning  the  signification  of  th«  G  eek  ierm 
Hades,  and  its  relationship  to  the  Fngiisb  w^d.  ^J'U,  I  have  thought 
it  expedient  to  g.ive,  in  this  place,  a  ,oncise  rii.^.seriation  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  may  tend  to  settle  the  controversy  among  the  candid, 
and  give  clear  and  positive  instruction  to  the  inquirer.  This  I 
shall  attempt  lu  the  four  following  divisions: 

1  I  :yi\\  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  origin  of  the  controversy. 

2  Show  that  Hades  means  the  abode  of  sovh,  between  death  and 
the  resurrection. 

3  That  the  souls  in  Hades  are  corporeal  beings,  capable  of  pleas- 
ure and  pain. 

4  That  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament,  is  substantially  the 
lame  as  that  believed,  by  the  ancient  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans. 


THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZARUS. 


303 


up,  and  saw  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom. 
And  he  cried,  saying:  Have  pity  on  me,  father  Abraham, 


From  a  careful  investigation  ©f  the  ancient  opinions,  there  ap- 
pears nothing  essentially  different  in  the  views  of  mankind,  rela- 
tive to  the  state  of  aieii  after  death,  until  the  time  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  copjruversy  between  the 
Protestants  and  Catholics  concerr'ng  I'urgatory,  brought  into  life, 
the  disputation  about  the  place  and  nature  of  Hell  torments.  Tiri- 
nus  calls  the  opinion,  that  the  H«brew  Sheol,  the  Greek  Hades,  and 
the  Latin  Infernus,  may  mean  the  grave,  the  delusive  dream  of  Cal- 
vin, Bucer,  and  Reza,  and  their  followers.  The  famous  Bellar- 
mine  de  Christo,  has  asserted  the  contrary;  and  maintained,  that 
these  words  signify  Hell,  or  the  place  of  spirits  after  death;  and 
his  hypothesis,  has  been  ably  sustained  by  Le  Clerc  and  o(!v^r  dis- 
tinguished Protestants.  The  candour  and  sacred  regard  for  truth, 
which  a  Christian  ought  ev^r  to  preserve,  will  prevent  him  fromi 
bartering  truth,  tor  the  sake  of  names,  or  the  honour  of  a  party. 

Could  a  mortal  man  look  down,  without  enlisting  the  passions,  as 
angels  do,  on  the  reasoning  of  mankind,  on  many  subjects,  especial- 
ly that  under  consideration,  how  would  he  be  astonished  to  see  the 
whole  testimony  of  antiquity,  and  the  scriptures,  utterly  rejected 
under  the  pretence  of  religious  reform.  Perhaps,  no  two  passages 
of  scripture,  have  been  more  triumphantly  quoted  to  prove  that 
Sheol  and  Hades  mean  grave,  than  Gen.  37.  35,  and  Acts  2.  29.  Is 
it  supposable  say  Bucer  and  Beza,  that  the  good  old  Patriarch 
coul.l  have  any  idea  of  going  to  Hell,  or  finding  his  beloved  son 
there.  But  on  the  other  hand,  is  it  not  absurd  to  render  the  word 
iSheol,  grave,  as  our  translators  have  done,  for  could  Jacob  expect 
to  meet  Benjamin  in  the  tomb,  when  he  believed  him  to  be  devour- 
ed by  a  wild  beast?  Let  any  man  speak  the  language  of  Jews,  Greeks, 
or  Romans,  on  this  subject,  and  Jacob  will  be  made  to  speak  the 
words  not  of  Sectarian  fanaticism,  but  of  truth  and  sobriety.  He 
believed  in  the  doctrine  of  an  invisible  world,  into  which  all  passed 
at  death;  and  there  in  the  regions  of  Sheol,  Hades  or  Infernus,  he 
would  meet  his  dearly  beloved  son,  Benjamin,  whom  he  believed 
to  be  still  alive,  though  his  body  might  be  eaten  and  digested  by  a 
wild  beast. 

In  the  next  passage  of  scripture.  Acts  2.  27,  31.  The  Calvinis- 
tic  hypothesis  is  still  more  unfortunate;  <'or  nothing  can  be  plainer 
than  the  distinction,  which  Peter  makes  between  the  body  of  Christ, 
which  was  not  suffered  to  see  corruption  in  the  grave,  and  the  soul 
of  Christ,  which  was  not  left  in  hades,  whether,  he  went  to  preach 
to  the  spirits  in  prison.     1  Peter  3.  18 — 20. 

2  That  Hades  was  considered  by  the  ancients,. a  subterraneous 
place  for  the  abode  of  souls,  after  death,  no  learned  man  free  from 


304  THE  RICH  MAN  AND    LAZAllUS. 

and  send  Lazarus  to  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water, 
and  cool  my  tongue ;  for  I  am  tormented  in  this  flame. 


party  prejudice,  will  deny.  The  proposition  of  Beilarmine,  that  it 
always  means  Hell  and  never  the  grave,  is  capable  of  the  clearest 
proof  by  the  authority  of  the  best  writers. 

1  Hades  cannot  mean  the  grave  or  a  pit,  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  They  wlio  plead  that  Sheol,  Hades,  or  Infernus,  means  the 
grave,  do  consequently  adnait,  that  these  words  are  the  names  of  a 
place,  for  without  location  there  can  be  no  grave  or  sepulchre;  and 
when  the  locality  is  admitted;  their  hypothesis  is  refuted,  by  all  an- 
tiquity; for  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  unite  in  describing  thi« 
place,  at  as  great  a  distance  beneath  the  earth,  as  Heaven  is  above  it. 
Thus  Hesiod,  Homer,  and  Virgil. 

Too-trov   EVEpS'    fti^Ew    oirov  ov^atoi   eor'    xvo  ya*»ij.      Iliad.  8.  V.  13. 
Tecrtrov    eve^O'   tTro    yjij   ocro*  eu^etvo^   err    ccnro  yairij.      Theog.  720. 

tum  Tartarus  ipse 

Bis  patet  in  preceps  tantum,  tenditque  sub  umbras 

Quantus  ad  aethereum  coeli  suspectus  Olympum.     Aen.  6.  57T. 

The  same  language  occurs  in  the  scriptures.  Higher  than  Heaven — 
deeper  than  Hell,  Hades  or  Slieol,  Job  11.  9.  Here  Campbell 
triumphantly  exclaims:  What  man  in  his  senses,  could  have  said: 
Ye  can  no  more  comprehend  the  Deity,  than  ye  can  discover  the 
height  of  the  firmament,  or  measure  the  depth  of  a  grave!  The 
Psalmist  also  speaks  in  the  same  style:  If  I  ascend  up  to  Heaven, 
thou  art  therej  if  I  go  down  into  Hell,  Sheol,  Hades,  lo!  thou  art 
tl-ere,  Ps-  139.  8.  Thus  also  God  by  the  prophet  Amos,  9.  2; 
Though  they  dig  into  Hell,  bheol.  Hades, — Though  they  climb  up 
to  Heaven. 

2  Hades  cannot  mean  the  grave,  because  it  is  one  place,  and 
gr?yes  are  scattered  every  where,  over  the  earth,  ll  was  a  com- 
monly received  opinion  among  the  Greeks,  that  all  men,  at  death, 
went  to  one  place  or  abofle:  wayras  o^w?  byrirov^  e»;  '«i^rjj  3i;fET«i,  one 
Hades  contains  all  the  dead  together.  In  the  same  manner,  the 
Latins  say  of  the  dead,  Domus  omnibus  una.  Josephus  say«, 
"Hades  is  a  subterraneous  region,  where  the  light  never  shineB, 
appointed  as  a  place  of  custody,  in  which  the  souls  both  of  the  right- 
eous and  unrighteous  are  detained."  This  place  is  clearly  distin- 
guished from  death  and  the  grave,  both  by  the  scriptures  and 
heathen  writers.  O  death  where  is  thy  sting?  O  Hades  where  is 
thy  victory?  1  Cor.  15.  55: — Death  and  Hades  delivered  up  the 
dead,  and  death  and  Hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  Rev.  20. 
13,  14.     Hades  is  distinguished  from  the  grave,  in  this  parable? 


THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZARUS.  305 

Abraham  answered:  Son,   remember  that  thou,  in  thy 
life-time,  receivedst  good  things,  and  Lazarus  received 


which  relates  that  the  ricli  man  was  buried,  and  afterwards  lift  up 
his  eyes  in  Hades.  Now  that  this  Hades  was  not  the  grave,  is  evi- 
dent. Angels  carried  Lazarus  away  to  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  ia 
Paradise;  but  the  rich  man  had  also  passed  over  a  like  space  from 
his  sepulchre;  for  he  is  now  so  situated  as  to  hold  a  conversation 
with  Abraham,  The  like  ditference  was  mvie  between  death,  the 
grave  and  Hades  or  Sheol,  by  the  Patriarch  Jacob,  and  the  poet 
Homer.  Jacob  expected  to  meet  his  son  in  Sheol,  though  he  be- 
lieved his  body  to  have  been  eaten  by  a  wild  beast.  Gen.  39.  35. 
So  H«)mer  in  the  third  and  fourth  lines  of  his  Iliad,  says:  The  souls 
of  the  heroes  slain  m  battle  went  to  Hades,  though  their  bodies  were 
a  prey  for  birds 

3.  Again,  let  it  be  observed,  that  keber,  the  Hebrew  word  for 
grave  or  sepulchre,  is  never  rendered  in  the  ancient  translatioa 
«5»j,  but  Ta^o?,  fAvnjuta,  or  some  equivalent  term.  Sheol,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  never  rendered  ra^og  or  i^)in[jL»,  but  always  aV;  nor  is 
it  ever  construed  with  S«tt4i,  or  any  verb  which  signifies  to  bury,  a 
thing  almost  inevitable  in  words  so  frequently  occurring,  if  it  had 
ever  properly  signitied  a  grave.  This  itself  might  suflice  to  show 
that  the  ideas  which  the  Jews  had  of  these,  were  never  confounded. 
I  observe  iurlher,  that  aV',  as  well  as  the  corresponding  Hebrew 
worfl,  is  always  singular  in  meaning,  as  well  as  in  form.  The  word 
for  grave  is  often  plural.  The  former  never  admits  the  possessive 
pronouns,  being  the  receptacle  of  all  the  dead,  and  therefore  inca- 
pable of  an  appropriation  to  iudividiraU,  the  latter  often.  Where 
the  disposal  of  the  body  or  corpse  is  spoken  of,  T«(poj,  or  some 
equivalent  term  is  the  natne  of  its  repository.  When  mention  is 
made  of  the  spirit  al'ter  death,  its  abode  is  a^n?.  When  notice  is 
taken  ot  one  m  xking  or  visiting  the  grave  of  any  person,  touching 
it,  mourning  at  it,  or  erecting  a  pillar  or  monument  upo  i  it,  and  the 
like,  it  is  always  keber  that  is  employed.  Add  to  this  that,  in 
hades,  all  the  dead  are  represented  as  being  present,  without  ex- 
Cf  ption.  The  case  is  quite  different  with  ihe  graves  or  ^sepulchres. 
Thus,  '.saiah  represents,  very  beautifully  and  poeticall3,a  ^i-eat 
and  suilden  desoiatioo  that  would  be  brought  upon  the  Oiirtu,  s  ty- 
ing, (sa  V.  14,  HitJfs,  or  as  in  the  common  version,  He'l  hct/t  e?i- 
largei  herself,  and  opened  her  mouth  without  mexsure.  fta./es  alone 
is  conceived  to  conti;iu  thetn  all,  t!iO'ij.;h  the  graves,  in  which  their 
bodies  were  deposited,  might  be  innuner  dde.  ^gsun,  in  the  song 
oftriumph,on  the  fall  ofthe  kingof  Bibylon,  Isa  xiv.  3.  The  origin- 
al word  being  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  passage, -^e/Z/rowi  beneath 


306  THE    RICH    MAN    AND    LAZARUS. 

evil  things;  but  here  he  is  comforted,  and    thou    art  ia 
torments.      Besides,  there  lies  a  huge  gulnh  betwixt  us 


ts  moved  for  thee  to  meet  thee  at  thy  coming  :  it  stirreth  up  the  dead 
for  thee,  even  all  the  chief  ones  of  the  earth  :  if  hath  raised  from  their 
thrones  all  the  kin3;s  of  the  nations.  Thus,  in  hades,  all  Uie  mon- 
archs  and  nobles,  not  of  one  llimily  or  race,  but  of  the  whole  earth, 
are  assembled:  Yet  their  sepulchres  are  as  ilistant  fro.:i  one  anoth- 
er as  the  nations  they  governed.  Those  mighty  dead  are  raised, 
not  from  their  couches,  which  would  have  been  the  natural  ex- 
pression, had  the  Prophet's  ide;i  been  a  sepulchral  vault,  how  mag- 
nificent soever,  but  from  their  thrones,  as  suited  the  notion  of  all 
antiquity,  concerning  not  the  bodies,  but  the  shades  or  ghosts  of 
the  departed,  to  which  was  always  assigned  something  similar  in 
rank  and  ocoup  i:ion  to  what  they  had  possessed  upon  the  earth. 
Nay,  as  is  well  observed  by  Castalio,  Defensio  adv.  Bezam.  those 
are  represented  as  in  hades,  whose  carcases  were  denied  the  hon- 
ours of  sepulture. 

By  the  ancients  in  general  Hades  was  divided  into  t»vo  principal 
departments,  called  Elysiv:naa(\  Tartarus,  by  the  Greeks,  but  Par- 
adise and  Gehenna,  by  the  Jews.  All  ghosts  according  to  the 
Greeks  passed  to  Hades  by  Charov^s  boat,  but  were  allotted  to  the 
different  departments  accordmg  to  their  conduct.  So  also  Josephus 
says,  the  souls  all  go  through  one  gate  into  one  region;  the  just  are 
gui'lpf!  to  the  rio^/)if  of  Hades,  where  there  is  a  luminous  region,  call- 
ed Abraham's  Bosom;  but  the  unjust  are  dragged  to  the  left  by  an- 
gels, appointed  for  their  punishment.  Hades  differs  from  Gehenna, 
as  a  whole  from  a  part:  as  the  present  and  the  future.  Hades  ig 
now,  Gehenna  shall  be  after  the  general  judgment.  Hades  is  the 
common  receptacle  of  all  souls,  Gehenna  of  all  the  wicked  only. 
Souls  in  Hades  may  be  released,  as  thousands  were  when  Christ 
ascended,  but  all  that  are  cast  into  Gehenna  shall  perish  eternally. 

The  Kabbinssay:  Paradise  and  Gehenna  are  so  situated,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  each  department  see  those  of  the  other.  See  Gill  and 
Rosenmuller  in  Loco.  But  alas!  for  the  inhabitants  of  Gehenna  or 
Tartarus,  the  view  can  only  create  new  pangs  of  remorse  and  des- 
pair. Peter  and  Jude  inform  us  that  God  has  bound  these  in  chains, 
and  they  are  reserved  in  imprisonment,  for  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day,  2  Peter  2.  4;  Jude  6.  At  which  time  says  Judith,  the 
Lord  will  put  fire  and  worms  into  their  flesh,  and  they  shall  feel 
them  and  weep  forever,  chap.  l6.  17.  This  same  doctrine  is  here 
confirmed  by  our  Lord,  who,  alluding  to  the  whirlpools,  caverns, 
or  rivers,  which  the  ancients  imagined  to  be  in  Hades,  teaches  us, 
that  the  sentence  of  the  judgment  day,  shall  like  an  impassable 
gulph  preserve  the  separation,  and  like  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians,  or  rather  the  immutable  decree  of  the  Almighty,  shall  not 


THE    RICH   MAN    AND    LAZARUS.  307 

and  you,  so  that  they  who  would  pass  hence  to  you, 
cannot;  neither  can  they  pass  to  us,  who  would    come 


be  changed,  nor  the  prisoners  released.     See  what  has  been  said 
on  Gehenna,  Sect.  33   pp.  148 — 150. 

Having  proved  that  Hades,  Sheol  or  Tnfernus  is  a  place,  not  the 
grave,  nor  Heath,  nor  a  state  as  some  visionaries  talk;  fcr  who  can 
form  any  idea  of  a  state  without  place  and  circumstance?  1  would 
next  observe  that  Hades  is  figuratively  used  for  the  government  or 
king  thereof,  as  we  find  that  Heaven  is  put  for  God,  in  the  parable 
of  the  Prodigal  and  other  passages  of  scripture.  Indeed  Le  Clerc 
on  Hammond,  Matt.  11.  23,  would  derive  the  word  from  the  He- 
brew aid,  which  he  thinks  the  Phenicians  and  Arabs  afterwards 
pronounced  Hayid  and  considered  the  n  »me  of  a  deity.  Even 
school  boys,  says  he,  know  that  Hades  and  Pluto  are  names  of  a  sup- 
posed Deity  who  presides  over  Hell.  And  hence  the  place  of 
souls  after  death  was  called  AiJa  ^oi^O';.  This  is  the  name  used  by 
Homer  when  he  divides  the  government  of  the  universe  between 
Jupiter,  Neptune,  and  Pluto.     Iliad.  O.  188. 

According  to  this  explication,  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  were 
both  in  hades,  though  in  veiy  d.iferent  situations,  the  latter  in  the 
mansions  of  the  hap'>y,  and  the  former  in  those  of  the  wretched. 
Let  us  see  how  the  circumstances  mentioned,  and  the  expressions 
used,  in  the  parable,  -vdl  suit  this  hypothesis.  First,  though  they 
are  said  t)  be  at  a  great  distance  from  each  other,  they  are  still 
wi'^iii"  sight  and  hearing.  This  would  have  been  too  gros^s  a  viola- 
tion of  probability,  if  the  one  were  considered  as  inhabiting  the 
hig.iest  heavens,  and  the  other  as  pl.iced  in  the  infernal  regions. 
Again,  the  expressions  used,  are  such  as  entirely  suit  this  explana- 
tion, and  no  other;  tor,  first,  the  distance  from  each  other  is  men- 
tioned, but  no  hint  that  the  one  was  higher  in  situation  than  the 
other;  secondly,  the  terms,  whereby  motion  from  the  one  to  the 
other  is  expressed,  are  such  as  are  never  employed  in  expressing 
motion  to  or  from  heaven,  but,  always,  when  the  places  are  on  a 
level,  or  nearly  so.  Thus,  Lazarus,  when  dead,  is  said,  Luke  xvi. 
2'2.  *7rEV£%-%v«t,  to  be  carried  away,  not  avEVE;^9w«t,  tn  be  carried  up^ 
by  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom;  whereas,  it  is  the  latter  of  these, 
or  one  similarly  compounded,  that  is  always  used,  where  an  as- 
sumption into  heaven  is  intended.  Thus,  the  same  writer,  in 
speaking  of  our  Lord's  ascension,  says,  xxiv.  5 1 .  «vE?)£pETo  e*;  tov  ov^x^ov, 
and  Mark  xvi.  19.  in  relation  to  the  event,  says,  cx.nX-n'P^n  m  tov  ovfavov, 
he  was  taken  up  into  heaven.  These  words  are  also  used,  whenev- 
er one  is  said  to  be  conveyed  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  situation. 
But  what  is  still  more  decisive  in  this  way;  where  mention  is  made 
of  passing  from  Abraham  to  the  rich  man,  and  inversely,  the  verbs 


S08  THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZARUS. 

thence.  Then  he  replied :  I  entreat  thee  therefore,  father, 
to  send  him  to  my  father's    house;    for    1  have   five 


employed  are,  cixt^ccivu  and  ^*«7rip«ui,  words  which  always  f'  ?note  mo- 
tion on  the  same  ground  or  level;  as,  passing  a  river  o  lake,  pas- 
sing through  the  Red  Sea,  or  passing  from  Asia  to  Macedonia. 
But,  when  heaven  is  spoken  of  as  thf  termination  to  which,  or 
froai  which,  the  passage  is  made,  the  word  i?,  invariably,  either  in 
the  tirst  case,  ava/S^vw,  and  in  the  second,  )c«TajS«ww,  or  some  word 
similarly  formed,  and  of  the  same  itr.port.  Thus,  both  the  circum- 
stances of  the  story,  and  the  expressions  employed  in  it,  con- 
firm the  explanation  I  have  given.  For,  if  the  sacred  penmen 
wrote  to  be  understood,  they  must  have  employed  their  words 
and  phrases  in  conformity  to  the  current  usage  of  those  for  whom 
they  wrote. 

3.  My  third  proposition  was  to  show  that  the  souls  in  hades  are  cor- 
poreal beings.  On  this  I  will  not  delay,  as  I  have  extensively  dis- 
cussed the  subject  of  the  soul's  materiality  in  an  essay  on  Psycholo- 
gy, published  at  Utica,  1826.  To  suppose  the  soul  of  man  a  mere 
spiritual  existence,  is  to  reduce  man  by  analysis  to  a  lump  of  earth, 
and  a  ghost  of  fancy.  Some  Philosophers  have  laboured  to  make 
men  mad,  not  wise.  One  sect  would  reduce  all  to  pure  spiritualism, 
and  leave  nothing  to  the  world  but  a  few  floating  ideas,  without  a 
brain  to  originate  or  retain  them.  Another  sect  would  chase  those 
airy  messengers  out  of  company,  and  fellowship  nothing  but  ponde- 
rous air,  earth,  and  metals.  May  God  deliver  the  world  of  man- 
kind from  gross  Materialists  and  aerial  Spiritualists;  for  both  are 
alike  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  religion,  and  the  happiness  of  so- 
ciety. God  has  often  brought  to  naught  the  wisdom  of  this  world, 
and  perhaps  in  no  instance  more  completely  than  in  this,  that  the 
Scriptures  preserve  a  direct  medium  between  these  extremes,  and 
perpetuate  the  language  of  the  ancient  traditions,  in  despite  of  all 
the  boasted  discoveries  of  science. 

The  ancient  poets  and  philosophers,  indeed  the  uniform  voice  of 
antiquity,  pronounced  the  soul  of  man  after  death  a  corporeal  exis- 
tence, possessed  of  the  passions,  character,  substance,  shape,  and 
lineaments  of  the  man  when  on  earth,  with  this  difference,  that  in 
Hades  the  ghosls  are  aerial,  light,  and  intangible.  Hence  Virgil 
calls  them  Tenues  sine  curpore  vitas.  Such  was  the  theory  of  the 
Platonists  and  Pythagoreans,  adopted  by  the  Christian  Fathers;  for 
though  there  have  been  some  disposed  to  accuse  Origen  and  others, 
oi  incorporating  the  notions  of  the  philosophers  with  the  Christian 
religion,  yet,  in  this  particular,  they  have  not  been  condemned.  Sim- 
ilar are  the  opinions  of  Epiphanius,  who  wrote  against  Heresies, 
and  particularly  against  those  of  Origen.     There  are  four  charac 


THE  KIC'H  MAN  AND  LAZARUS.  309 

brothers,  that  he  may  admonish  them,  lest  they  also 


teristics  of  (he  bodies  of  the  saints  in  Heaven,  tHUght  by  Epijhan- 
ius,  in  Heres,  Ong.  and  Dam  isrt>n.  de  Fide  Caihol.  L.  4.  C.  28, 
impassibility,  t^'ansparency,  aiji7//j/,  subtilty.  And  that  the  appenr- 
tince,  lineaments,  and  passions  of  the  body  are  retained  in  Hades, 
is  positively  asserted  by  Ireneus  and  Tertulhan.  See  Whitby  on 
Luke  16.  19,  and  1  Cor.  15.  43 — 55.  The  opinion  of  the  an- 
cient Jews  on  this  subject,  comes  down  to  us  by  unerring  testimo- 
ny; for  the  history  of  Samuel  and  the  VVitch  of  Endor,  is  decisive; 
and  is  an  everlasting  refutation  of  that  dogma,  which  supposes  the 
Jews  to  have  learned  the  doctrine  of  ghosts  and  angels  during  their 
captivity.  In  this  discourse  concerning  the  rich  man  and  I^a/arus, 
the  doctrine  of  the  animal  soid,  according  to  the  enlightened  tradi- 
tions and  philosophy  of  the  ancients,  is  recognized  and  admitted  by 
Christ.  Lazarus  is  hapjv.  the  rich  man  is  tormented.  They  see, 
they  feel,  they  converse,  they  know  and  are  known,  as  when  on 
earth.  Hence  the  materia! ity,  lineaments, passions  -.md  faculties  of 
the  body  are  retiiined  aftei  der.th,  though  the  i)ody  were  burned  to 
ashes  on  the  iuneral  pile.  Sncli  is  thereibre  the  doctrine  of  the 
whole  world  and  of  Christ,  concerning  the  souls  in  a  separate 
state.  From  this  view  of  the  souls  in  Hades,  we  can  e;\sily  per- 
ceive the  possibility  and  rationality  of  the  Pharisaic  docirine,  that 
the  wicked  shall  be  punished,  but  never  obtain  a  resurrection. 
The  doctrine  of  Ivlaterialists,  who  say  that  there  is  no  existence 
between  death  and  the  resurrection,  is  equally  repna.nant  to  all  phi- 
losophy, antiquity,  and  reveli.tion.  \\  litn  Paul  descrbes  the  re- 
surrection, 1  Cor.  15.  the  mosi  cursory  attention  will  perceive,  that 
he  speaks  only  of  the  dead  in  Christ,  or  believers  in  the  Lord  Je- 
Bus.  But  though  he  discusses  the  question  of  the  Grecian  philoso- 
phers, votu  (TUfj.oi.ii  i^xP'^ra.r,  he  mikes  no  aUeration,  in  their  doc- 
trine ot  the  ^oul,  but  seems  to  confirm  it,  by  distinguishing  the 
clothing,  or  body  of  the  intermediate  state,  from  that  of  the  right- 
eous, after  the  resunection.  See  2  Cor.  5.  I — 0;  and  12.  2,  3,  4. 
In  these  places  of  scripture,  he  speaks  of  a  clothing  ano  house, 
from  heaven,  immediatel)  after  death:  and  that  he  believed  the 
doctrine  of  the  soul's  cori-oriety,  is  manifest  from  his  saving,  he 
beard  things  unlawful  to  be  uttered,  when  he  knew  not  whether  he 
was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  bod) :  plainly  d-iclarinj^,  his  belief  in 
the  corporeal  qualities  of  the  soul;  for  how  could  a  being  without 
organs,  see,feel^  or  hear?  Indeed  the  language  of  Christ  to  his 
disciples,  shows  that  he  distinguishes  a  soul  from  the  body  chiefly 
by  the  touch.  Luke  24.  39.  Accordingly,  the  rich  man  says  he 
was  tormented  in  a  flame,  and  sought  for  water  to  cool  his  tongue. 
Q(  this  sensation  we  may  learn  some  idea  from  what  we  are  toW 

40 


510         THE  RICB  MAN  AND  LAZAUUS. 

come  into  this  place  of  torment.     Abraham  answered: 


by  one  who  has  lost  a  Umb,  who  feels,  or  believes  he  sometimes 
feels,  jniri  in  the  part  that  lui?  been  for  some  time  sejiai-ited  from 
him.  r^ut  let  us  hear  Au>^ustine.  "Why  shouUl  it  not  be  credi- 
ble, that  elementary  tire  can  operate  on  the  soul  after  dcatii,  \vl.en 
«eparate'l  from  (he  body,  since  the  mind  oi  inan  does  actually  expe- 
rience the  pam  of  tire?  lor  alter  all,  it  is  not  the  body,  S'trictly 
speaking;,  which  suffers  heat,  or  cold,  or  j)ain;  but  the  soul  united 
to  that  body:  and  why  might  not  the  souls  of  the  damned  be  united 
to  the  matter  of  the  tire  that  burns  them,  as  our  souls  are,  during 
life,  united  to  our  bodies?" 

4  The  fourth  proposition  is  to  show,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
New  Testament  concerning  Hades,  is  substantially  the  same,  as  that 
of  the  ancient  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  in  the  three  following 
particulars:  1  The  place  of  the  ^ouls.  2  Their  nature  and  cha- 
racter.    3  The  nature  and  duration  of  their  punishments. 

1.  What  late  inquiries  concerning  the  central  vacuity  of  the 
earth,  has  rendered  very  probable,  the  ancients  as  far  as  they  were 
acquainted  with  its  spheiicai  lorm,  seem  to  have  generally  believ- 
ed, and  therefore  they  getierally  placed  Hell  in  tlte  centre  of  ihe 
earth;  and  all  speak  of  it  as  beneath  the  earth,  or  beyond  the  ocean, 
which  expressions  are  capable  of  being  harmonised.  Of  this  how- 
ever enough  has  been  said,  in  the  second  part  ot  this  dissertation. 
Let  it  sutiice  to  observe  that  the  ancients  generally  believed,  that 
they  would  all  meet  in  one  place  after  death.  riet)ce  the  Jewish 
and  scriptural  j  brase  concerning  a  man  at  death:  He  was  gathered 
to  his  fathers:  by  which  they  did  not  mean  that  he  was  put  in  the 
same  tomb;  for  this  was  not  tnie  of  Abraham,  Aaron  and  Moses,  who 
died  in  foreign  lands,  but  they  were  gathered  to  the  souls  ol  their 
fathers  in  Hades.  To  tie  san'e  effect  is  that  memorable  passage  of 
dicero,  wherein  he  exclaims;  O  happy  day!  referring  to  the  time 
when  he  should  go  to  the  company  ot  those  distinguished  Philoso- 
phers and  virtuous  men,  whose  company  or  wisdom  he  admired. 

2  '1  he  nature  and  character  of  the  soul.  Here  we  would  briel3y 
observe,  that  the  ancients  generally  believed,  that  the  soul  separate 
from  the  body,  letams  the  resen.blance  and  image  of  the  body  whick 
it  had  animated.  V\  hen  the  soul  of  Patroculus  appeared  to  Achilles, 
it  had  the  resembhuce  of  the  former  hero:  having  his  eyes,  his 
Toice,  and  his  stature,  nay  even  his  garments,  Homer  Ihad.  23. 
The  sume  may  be  s^id  ot  Samuel  to  Saul,  1.  Sam.  28.  13 — 15;  of 
Jererniaii  to  Jucias  Maccabeus,  2  Mace.  15.  14.  And  when  Christ 
appeared  walking  on  the  water,  the  aj>ostles  cried  through  tear,  sup- 
pnting  him  to  be  an  apparitiin.  Malt.  14.  26.  In  the  faith  of  these 
corporeal  forms,  Moses  commanded  Israel,  not  to  consult  the  dead. 
Deut.  29.  il.     The  ancient  book   of  Enoch   ascribes  corporeal 


THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZAKUI.  SI  I 

They  have  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  let  tliem  hear  them. 


qualities  to  both  angels  and  souls  of  men;  and  the  Fathers  both  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  Uhurches  exphiined  Gen.  6.  2.  4,  as  a  histori- 
cal account  of  carnal  conversation  between  angels  and  women,  and 
consequently  they  ascribed  to  them  bodily  passions.  The  Jewish 
Rabbins  attribute  to  souls  alter  their  separation  from  tlie  body,  ano- 
ther nubtile  body,  making  this  difference  between  t!ie  pouls  of  the 
ungodly  and  the  righteous,  th  \i.  the  substance  of  the  latter  is  trans- 
parent, or  luminous  and  imperisliable.  But  ICimc'ii  and  Maimon- 
ides  both  teach  the  annihilation  and  conseqtiently  the  perishability 
of  the  wicked.  Novv  such  were  the  opinions  of  Christ's  (Hsciples, 
and  the  language  of  th'Mr  mister  is  in  nothing  opposed,  Luke  24. 
38,  39;  John  20.  25—27.  That  Christ  b.dieved  the  perishability 
of  the  soul,  is  deducible  from  Luke  12.  5,  and  all  places  where  he 
makes  eternal  life  dependent  on  faith. 

3.  Lastly,  we  shall  notice  the  n  iture  and  duration  of  ihe  pun- 
ishments in  Hades.  Were  the  writings  of  some  men  to  obtain 
credit,  we  would  be  induced  to  believe,  thni  Hell  was  nothing  more 
than  the  tictinn  of  poets;  and  that  the  Jews  learned  their  notions  of 
it  from  the  Greeks  or  Assyrians;  but  a  little  att'^ntion  to  the  scrip- 
tures will  dispel  the  doubt,  and  establish  the  doctruie  in  the  minds 
of  all  that  admit  the  authority  of  revelation. 

The  earliest  trace  ot  Hell  or  Hades,  as  a  place  of  punishment, 
is  in  the  account  of  the  fallen  angels  or  giants,  who  kept  not  their 
rank,  but  descended  to  un'ioly  intercourse  with  the  daughters  of 
men,  Gen,  6.  2,  4.  Of  these  Peter  and  Jude  assert,  that  God 
spared  them  not,  but  cast  them  down  to  Tartarus,  to  be  there  re- 
served to  the  judimenl  of  the  great  day,  2  Peter  2  4,  Jude  6.  Of 
their  lapse  and  condemnation,  the  book  of  Enoch  speaks  freely,  and 
gives  a  history  of  the  fdlen  anuels  and  their  posterity,  the  giants 
who  occasioned  the  flood,  but  as  some  make  objections  to  its  au- 
thenticiiy,  *liough  it  was  acknoAledged  l)y  Tertullian  as  a  genuine 
book,  we  can  easily  :  eler  to  a  great  variety  of  testimony  Job, 
one  of  the  most  ancient  books  in  the  world,  whether  written  by 
Joh  IiiT,<5ell  >)r  Wo-pp,  describes  the  giants  and  their  companions, 
groaning  under  the  waters,  and  IkJI  f fades,  and  destidcliou,  with- 
out a  covering  before  God,  Job.  26.  5,  6.  He  elsewhere  says: 
As  drought  and  heat  consume  the  snow  waters,  so  do^^s  Hell  those 
who  have  smued.  Job.  24.  19,  20.  Solomon  ssiys:  The  path  of 
fools  is  the  way  that  leads  to  Hell,  the  abode  of  t!ie  giants;  ami  the 
man  that  wanders  out  of  the  way  of  undersianding,  shall  remain  in 
the  assembly  of  the  giinls,  Prov.  9. 18,  and  21.' J6.  The  Psalna- 
ists  asks;  Shall  the  giants  rise  to  praise  thee?  Ps.  87.  So  Virgil 
notices  the  overthrow  of  the  giants,  sixth  iElneid.  Homer  in  kis 
Iliad,  book  8th,  and  Hesiod,  Theog. 


312  THE   RICH   MAN   AND    LAZARUS. 

Nay,  said  he,  father  Abraham,  but  if  one  went  to  them 


Hie  genus  antiqMiim  terrae,  Titania  pubea 

FuK'Mfie  dtijecti,  i\mdo  volvuntur  in  imo. 
Moses  speaks  of  a  tire  kindled  in  God's  anger>  burning  to  th« 
lowest  Hell;  that  is  to  Tartarus.  Dent.  32.  22.  And  the  belief  of 
this  awfal  end  of  the  wicked,  induced  Balaam  to  exclaim:  Let  m* 
die  the  death  of  the  righteous^  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his.  Num. 
23.  10.  Pfato  was  so  far  from  imagining  that  tiie  punishments  of 
Heli  were  fictitious  or  vain  fears,  that  in  his  republic,  he  showi^ 
that  no  society  can  be  preserved  in  safety,  unless  restrained  by  the 
fear  of  punishment  in  the  world  to  come;  and  in  Georg.  p.  52?, 
he  says:  *'Tke  last  and  greatest  of  all  evils  ts,  that  the  soul  should 
go  to  Hell,    HaiIES,  burdened  with   many  crimes,     'TroWiDt  aJtxnjLtarap 

Concernmg  the  nature  oi  punishment  in  Hell,  the  general  senti- 
ment of  all  antiquity  was,  that  it  is  corporeal;  and  all  that  haft 
been  alleged  against  real  and  corporeal  pimishment,  has  never 
amounted  to  aay  thing  more  than  mere  conjecture.  But  alf»a* 
for  the  man  that  can  be  content  to  oppose  a  tnere  opinion  to 
the  general  testimony  of  antiquity,  and  the  holy  scriptures.  Je- 
sus represents  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  by  fire,  cold,  dark' 
ness,  despair,  and  reinorse.  these  ideas  he  conveys  by  th« 
phrases  everlasting  f  re,  outer  darkness,  a  worm  that  dies  not,  gnash- 
ing of  the  teeth,  iVlark  9.  43.  44:  Matt.  '22.  13.  The  doctrine  of 
Plato,  and  the  institutes  of  Mmu,  agree  in  the  ojnnion  that  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  wicked  shall  consist  of  the  extremes  of  heat  and  coldz 
and  the  Jewish  Rabbins  say,  the  torments  ot  Hell,  are  cold,  heat,  and 
despair. 

Of  the  degrees  and  duration  of  punishment  in  Hades,  there  has 
subsisted  considei  able  uiiitbrmiiy  of  opinion.  The  Jews  believed 
in  seven  degrees  of  punishment  m  Hell.  The  Mahometans  speak  of 
seven  gates  leading  to  different  departments.  Jesus  says  some  shall 
be  beaten  with  few  stripes,  others  with  many.  The  whole  heathea 
world  believed  and  taught  a  great  diversity  of  degrees,  both  in  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  the  happiness  of  the  just.  Th© 
heathen  world,  and  also  thr;  Jews,  divided  Hades  6t  Hell  into  three 
departments,  adapted  to  the  different  classes  of  inhabitants.  The 
Elysium  or  Paradise  was  a  miniature,  or  outer  court  of  the  true 
Heaven.  The  Tartarus  was  the  piison  house  of  those,  that  were 
condemned  to  eternal  perdition,  whilst  the  vestibule,  or  regions  o£ 
Hades,  lying  near  the  gate,  seemed  destined  for  those  who  wene 
neither  so  good  as  to  be  admitted  to  Elysium,  nor  so  wicked  as  to  be 
abandoned  to  Tartarus.  This  distribution  of  Hades  is  noted  in  th^te 
lines  of  Virgil: 


THE    RICH   MAN    AND    LAZARUS.  315 

irom  the  dead,  they  would  reform.     Abraham   replied: 


Hie  locus  est,  partes  ubi  se  via  findit  in  ambas; 

D«xtera,  quae  Ditis  magni,  sub  moenia  leniJit; 

Hac  iter  Elysium  nobis:  at  Iseva  malorum 

Exercet  poenas,  et  ad  irapia  Tartara  mittit. 
1  Of  these  three  departments,  let  us  notice  first,  the  case  oflhe 
souls  in  the  vestibule,  or  Purgatory.     All  men,  whose  prtjiulice  or 
erroneous  education  hns  not  deprived  of  the  liberty  ol  free  mquiry, 
will   easily   perceive,    that   the  philosophical  and   religious  world, 
has  unanimously  admitted  temporary  pains,  or  limited  and  enienda- 
tory  punishments,  for  those  who  have  not  been  so  ziiljully  wicked, 
deliberately  perverse,  as  to  become  fit  subjects  for  the  desli  union, 
or  vindictive  torments  of  Tartarus,  or  Gehenna.     Manasstdi   Bea 
Israel,  de  Resurrect.  L.  2.  c.   1,  expresses  tl.e  sense  ol   the  Jews 
on  this  subject,  that  none  will  be  eternally  abrmdoned  but  Atheists 
and  Infidels,  or  those  who  deny  the  being  of  a  God,  the  divine  obli- 
gation of  the  law,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.     But  those, 
who  had  not  died  infidels,  or  guilty  of  some   sins,  which  the  Rab- 
bins defined  to  be   unpardonable,  would    be    releasee!,  and   some 
would  not  be  confined  more  than  one  year.     Ol'tiiis  doctrine  Jesus, 
Paul,  and   Peter  take  notice.  Matt.  5.  26;  12.  .-i2;   Luke    12.  4J;  1 
Cor.  3.  13;  I  Peter  3.  19.     Christ  plainly  refers  (o  the  Jewish  opin- 
ion of  Purgatory,  when  he  speaks  of  paying  the  last  iarlhing;  ol  be- 
ing beaten  with  few  stripes;  ol  some  sins  that  would  not  be  forgiven 
in  the  next  world.     In  all  these  expressions  there  could  be  nether 
meaning  nor  propriety,  without  the  suppositioii'of  some  sins  being 
fora;iven  after  death,  and  the  punishments  of  some  men  being  tempo- 
rary.    All  this  is  confirmed  by  the  apostle's  declaration,  tliat  some 
men  shall  be  saved,  yet  so  as  by  fire,  and  the  assur.inoe  that  Peter 
has  given,   that  Christ,  after  his  crucifixion,  went  lo  pretch  to  the 
spirits  in  prison,  or  Purgatory.     This  do*.  Uine  is  corroborated  by 
what  the  thief  says  to  Christ,  Lord  remember  me  when  thou  coinest 
into  ihy  kingdom,  Luke  23.  42.     'J'he  poor  thiet  believed  he  must 
go  to  Hades,  and  remain  in  the  ilepartment  of  Puriratory,  till  Christ 
might  please  to  reiease  him.      StilJ  larther  John  heard  those  under 
the  earth,  which  must  have  been  the  souls  in  Purgatory,  join  with 
those  inearth  and  Heaven,  in  the  song  ol  praise,   Rev.  5.  IS.      But 
those  in  the  Hell  ol  the  damned,  could  have  no  interest  in  the  song 
of  the  redeemed.     In  the  faith  of  this  doctrine,  Judas  iVJaccahtus 
collected  ten  thousand  drachmas  of  silver,  and  sent  to  Jerusalem  to 
be  offered  in  expiation  for  the  sins  of  the  dead  slain  in  batllCj  and 
the  writer  says,  it  was  a  pious  and  good  thought,  to  pray  tor  the  dead, 
that  they  might  be  forgiven  their  sins,  2  M;icc.  12.  43,  46.     In  tliis 
faith  also  of  profiting  the  souls  in   Purgatory,  Paul  alludes  to  the 


314  THE  RICH  MAN  AND  LAZARUS. 

If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  Prophets ;  neither  will 


practice  of  baptizing  for  the  dead,  1  Cor.  15.  29.     The  doctrine  of 
Plato  and  Pythagoras  is  well  described  by  V^irgil.     Aen.  6.  740. 
Supplicia  expendunt,  aliis,  sub  gnrgite  vaato 
Infectum  eluitur  sceliis,  aut  exuritur  igni. 
Some  plunged  in  waters,  others  purged  in  fires, 
Till  all  the  dregs  are  drained,  and  ail  the  rust  expires. 
The  few,  thus  cleansed,  to  blessed  abodes  repair, 
And  breathe  in  ample  fields,  the  soft  Eiysian  air. 

The  second  department,  which  we  shall  now  notice,  was  Elysium 
or  Paradise,  both  ot'vvhich  words  conveyed  the  idea  of  imniortality. 
The  first  being  derived  from  «  negative  and  Xvu  to  dissolve;  and 
therelore  Elysium  signified  iinmortul  or  indissoluble.  A  similar 
idea  was  attached  to  the  Pers-ian  word  Farcies,  which  signifies  a 
garden,  and  remitided  the  .lews  of  the  tree  of  life  and  the  happiness 
of  primeval  innocence.  All  souls  admiltrd  to  Elysium,  live  forever. 
Thus  Jesus  promises  that  those  who  keep  his  commandments,  and 
are  victorious  in  the  Christian  warfare,  shall  have  a  right  to  the  tree 
of  life,  in  the  Paradise  of  God,  Rev.  2.  7,  and  22.  14.  In  this  de- 
""partment  of  Hades  all  the  souls  of  the  just  and  faithful,  were,  till 
after  the  ascension  of  Christ:  foi  here,  in  Christ's  discourse,  we 
find  that  Abraham  had  not  been  released,  ant!  to  this  place  Laf^arus 
and  all  the  pious,  dying  in  faith,  went  after  death.  Hence  Peter 
tells  the  .Jews  at  the  lime  of  Christ's  ascension,  that  David  had  not 
yet  ascended.  This  was  agreeable  to  their  belief,  and  is  confirmed 
by  what  Christ  says  to  the  thief  on  the  cross,  "To  day  shalt  thou 
be  with  me  in  Paradise,"  by  which  he  did  not  mean  Heaven,  but  the 
department  of  Hales,  called  by  the  GrecHs  Eiysium,  and  by  the 
Jews  Paradise,  for  three  da}s  alter,  he  says  to  Mary,  touch  me 
not,  for  i  have  not  yet  ascended,  John  20.  17-  But  after  he  as- 
cended, and  received  and  ]uepared  the  kingdom,  he  delivered  the 
captives;  and  by  virtue  of  his  atonement,  or  as  the  Prophet  has  it, 
by  the  blooj  of  the  Covenant,  he  brought  forth  the  prisoners  out  of 
the  pit,  wherein  is  no  water,  Zach.  9.  1 1.  Since  which  time  those 
who  die  in  faith  and  preparation  for  Heaven,  need  not  to  go  to  Hades, 
but  like  Paul  ascend  and  be  present  with  the  Lord,  as  soon  as  they 
are  absent  from  the  body. 

The  last  thing  to  be  noticed,  is  Tartarus  so  ca'ded  from  TK^acra-u 
to  terrify  or  torment.  1  his  v  as  the  lowest  and  most  dreadful  de- 
partment of  Hades,  and  may  ^e  ca'lcd  the  prison  house  of  Pluto, 
ludf  ed  hades  or  Pluto  is  often  in  the  scriptures  represented  as  a 
king  of  Terrors  having  his /3a<r«XEta  or  kingdom,  VVisd.  1.  14;  his 
house,  Gen.  37.  35;  his  Palace  or  city  gates.  Is.  38.  10,  Matt.  16. 
18;  his  door-keepers.  Job.  38.  17;  and  his  sting  or  dart,  1  Cor,  15. 


THE  RICH   MAN  AND  LAZARUS.  315 

they  be  persuaded*  though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead. 

55.  The  souls  conHemr.ed  (o  Tiirtnriis  c  in  never  be  released;  the 
impassable  gn'ph  proves  nn  etenuil  bsirrier,  ami  intercepts  to  ;ill 
eternity,  iiUerc.oiir.^»?  ')-?twpen  Tartarusi  and  Klysiu  n.  Hence  Vli-gil 
describes  it  as  siirninndod  with  a  triple  wall,  having  adamantine 
gates,  vvitht>ut  which,  rolls  the  Tartarean  river  ol  flaming  tire. 
Thus  shut  in,  he  says  no  power  of  men  or  Gods  can  by  any  means 
release  the  ghosts. 

Moenia  lata  videt,  tripliri  circumdata  muro; 
Quae  rapidus  tl  immis  ambit  torrentibus  amnis 
Tartareus  Phlegethon  torquetque  sonantia  saxa. 
Porta  adversa  ingen*,  solidoque  adamante  columnae 
Vis  ut  nulla  viruin,  non  ipsi  exscendere  ferro 
Coelicolae  valeaut. 

This  single  quotation  i?  sufficient  to  show  that  Plato  did  not  be- 
lieve in  the  (in  il  puritication  of"  all  men:  and  if  any  thing  be  wanted 
to  complete  the  evideno.;,  tiie  following  passage  from  his  (teorg.  p. 
357  will  suffice.  Speaking  of  the  wicked  he  says:  ^»«  Totai^ra  a^ijcu- 
fM.'Tu  oinxToi  yvjuvTXi,  when  by  their  crimes  they  have  become  incura- 
ble, they  are  abandoned  as  examples.  It  bas  never  been  ;troved 
that  Origen  believed  the  linal  salvation  of  wicked  man  and  devds, 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe,  his  enemies  reproached  him  falsely, 
his  doctrine  being  that  of  Plato.  Josephus  Antiq.  L.  l8.  c.  2,  says 
of  the  Pharisees,  that  they  assigned  to  the  wicked  u^y^ov  aiJwn  an 
eternal  prison  in  vvhicii  they  would  be  tormented  with  on^iuo  Tt/xw^»» 
eternal  punishment.  See  Wars  L.  2.  c.  12.  Philo  says  the  wicked 
will  undergo  an  en<lless  death.  The  Targum  of  Onkelos,  that  of 
Jerusalem  and  also  that  of  Ben  Uziel,  on  Dc  ut.  33.  6.  say:  Let  not 
Reuben  die  the  s3co  id  death  which  the  wicked  die  in  the  age  to 
come.  Kimchi  on  Isaiah  22.  14,  says:  This  sin  shall  not  be  forgiven 
till  the  second  death,  »vhen  the  soul  dits  in  the  world  to  come.  From 
all  which  testimoni>;s  and  the  gr-^oral  consent  of  the  world,  the 
wicked  will  be  either  eternally  tor.iiented  in  Tartarus  or  Gehenna, 
or  annihilated  in  its  flames  atter  adequate  suffering.  See  Section 
Thirty-third,  p.  148. 

*  This  answer  of  Abraham  contains  two  remarkable  proposi- 
tions. 1.  That  t!ie  Sacred  Writings  contain  such  procifs  o'  a  divine 
origin,  that  though  all  the  dead  were  to  avise,  to  convince  an  unbe- 
liever of  the  truths  therein  dtcii:red;  the  conviction  could  not  be 
greater,  nor  the  proof  more  evident,  of  the  truth  of  these  Sacred 
Records,  than  that  whicii  themselves  and  their  history  afford.  2. 
That  to  escape  eternd  perdition,  and  to  attain  eternal  glory,  a 
man  must  receive  the  testimcaies  oi  God,  and  walk  according  to 
their  dictates.     And  these  two  thmgs  show  th^;  sufficiency  and  per- 


SECTION  EIGHTY-THFRD. 

Christ  rejected  by  the  Samaritans. 

Now  as  Jesus  was  going  to  Jerusalem,  he  passed  by 
the  confines*  of  Samaria  and  Galilee.  And  he  sent  mes- 
sengers before  him,  who  went  into  a  village  of  the  Sa- 
maritans, to  prepare  for  his  reception.  But  they  would 
not  receive!  him,  because  he  was  going  towards  Jerusa- 
lem. No.v  when  James  and  John,  his  disciples,  saw 
this,  they  said:  Master,  wilt  thou  permit  us,  like  Elijah, 
to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  them.'*  But 
he,  turning,  rebuked  them.  *  *  *  And  they  went  to 
another  village. 


fection  of  the  Sacred  Writings.  What  influence  could  the  personal 
appe.irance  oi  a  spirit  have  on  an  unbelieving  and  corrupted  heart? 
None,  except  to  terrify  it  for  the  moment — and  it'terwapd  to  leave 
it  ten  thousand  reasons  for  uncertainty  and  doubt.  Christ  caused 
this  to  be  exemplified  in  the  most  literal  manner,  by  raising  Laza- 
rus from  th.^  dead.  And  did  this  convince  the  unbelieving  Jews? 
No.  They  were  so  much  the  inore  enraged;  and  from  that  moment 
conspirni  the  ileath  both  of  Lazarus  and  o"^  Ciirist?  Faith  is  satis- 
fied with  soch  pi  oofs  as  God  is  pleased  to  afford:  Infidelity  is  never 
satisfied. 

*.Tesus  did  not  return  to  Galilee  after  the  feast  of  Tabernacles, 
but  being  to  the  north  of  Judea,  probably  as  far  as  Action,  he  re- 
turniuij  to  .li  rusalem,  passed  near  the  boundaries  of  Gililee  and 
Samaria.  Roseniniil'er  observes  that  ^«i;)t-£r3<*»  and  Tra.^i^x'^^"'^ 
followed  by  the  preposition  \ix,,  do  not  signify  passing  through  a 
place,  but  to  p;  ss  Dy  it.  Hence  the  words,  ^*«  ^j-ith,  should  not  be 
translated  through  the  midst,  but  by  the  confines  of  Samaria 
and  Galilee.  That  is,  he  had  proceeded  northward  nearly  as  far 
as  Galilee  but  had  not  entered  the  tetrarchy  of  Herod. 

t  Tile  Jews  held  the  Samaritans  in  utter  abhorrence,  and  the 
Saniaritaiis,  in  turn,  would  not  even  afibrd  entertainment  to  Jesus 
or  persons  goi:ig  towards  Jerusalem.  What  a  miserable  picture 
of  riational  and  religious  prejudice! 

*  *  *  Tlie  words,  and  said  to  them:  Ye  fmow  not  what  manner  of 
spirit  ye  are  of;  for  the  Son  of  man  is  net  come  to  destroy  men's 
Uvcs  but  to  save  them,  are  rejected  from  the  text,  being  without 
authority.     See  Griesbach, 


SECTION  EIGHTY-FOURTH. 

Cure  of  ten  Lepers. 

As  Jesus  was  about  to  enter*  a  certain  village,  ten 
lepers  met  him,  who,  staiidin^^  at  a  distance,  cried  with 
a  loud  voire,  sayiii;^:  Jesus,  blaster,  take  pity  on  us. 
And,  looking  on  thetn,  he  said:  (lo,  show  yourselves  to 
the  priests.  And  it  happened  that  as  th{iy  were  going, 
they  were  cleansed.  And  one  of  them  perceiving  that 
he  was  healei.  returned,  glorifying  God  vvsth  a  loud 
voice:  and  falling  ai  the  feet  of  Jesus  gave  him  thanks. 
Now  this  man  was  a  Sama-'itan.  Jesus  said:  Were 
not  the  ten  cleansed'  Where  then  are  the  other  nine? 
Have  none  returned  to  giority  God,  except  this  alien.^ 
Then  he  said  to  the  man:  Arise,  go  thy  way,  thy  faith 
has  cured  thee. 


*It  appears,  that,  our  Lord  liad  now  proceeded  some  distance  on 
his  way  to  Jerusalf^m,  ^o  keep  the  feast  of  Dedication;  and  was  in 
Judea  proper.  Hence  the  Saniarifan  is  called  a  straiiger;  But 
the  term  alien^  may  have  been  given  to  him  in  the  style  of  the 
Jews,  who,  from  the  time  .)f  th ;  captivity,  consiJeied  Uie  Samari- 
tans, as  Cuthites,  and  aliens  t)  the  covenant  of  Israel.  He  met 
these  lepers  as  he  was  about  to  enter  the  village,  oecause  those 
affected  with  this  loathsome  di-sease  were  not  permitted  to  enter 
the  city  or  come  near  any  person,  lest  by  touch,  the  contagion 
might  be  communicated.  See  Lev.  13.  46,  47;  14.  37;  2  Kings 
5.  27;  15.  5.  Therefore  they  stood  at  a  distance,  and  cried  to 
Jesus  for  help.  Their  distress  was  equal;  their  pi ayer  unanimous; 
their  deliverance  simultaneous  and  miraculous:  but  their  grati- 
tude disproportionate  t{»  (lieir  profession  and  privilege. 

By  the  order  given  to  this  Samaritan,  as  well  as  to  the  Jews,  to 
go  and  shew  himself  to  the  priest,  meaning  no  doubt  at  the  tem- 
ple of  Jerusalem,  Jesus  mignt  designedly  intim;ite  to  this  Samari- 
tan, that  the  proper  seat  of  worship  was  at  Jerusalem,  and  not 
mount  Gerizim.  But  Jesus  being  free  from  all  the  low  prejudices 
of  his  countrymen,  takes  every  opportunity  to  lessen  tne  force  of 
them  in  others;  therefore  he  chose  in  one  of  his  parables  to  repre- 
sent the  perfection  of  humanity  in  the  character  of  a  Samaritan: 
.and  here  he  commends  this  Samaritan's  faith. 

41 


SECTION  EIGHTY  HFTH. 

Coming  of  Messiah's  reign. 

Being  asked  by  the  Pharisees,  when  the  reign  of  God 
would  come*  he  answered:  The  reign  of  God  comes 
not  with  scrupulous  observation.  Nor  should  ye  say 
Lo!  here;  or  Lo!  there;  for  behold  the  reign  of  God  is 
among  you. 

Then  he  said  to  his  disciples:  A  time  will  come  when 
ye  will  desire  to  see  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man, 
but  shall  not  see  it.  And  if  any  say  to  you:  Lo;  here 
is  Christ;  or,  Lo!  he  is  there;  go  not  in  search  of  him. 
For  as  the  lightning  flashes  from  one  part  of  the  sky  to 
the  other,  arising  in  the  east  and  shining  to  the  west,  so 
shal^  the  Son  of  man  be  in  his  day.  But  he  must  first 
suffer  much  and  be  rejected  by  this  generation.  And  as 
it  happened  in  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  it  be  in  the 
days  of  the  Son  of  man.     For  as  in  the  days  that  pre- 


*  We  have  here  a  discourse  of  Christ  concerning;  his  kingdom. 
The  Pharisees  ask:  When  sha'l  the  kingdom  of  God  come?  Jesus 
ans-vvers:  The  reign  of  God,  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  comes 
not  with  scrupulous  observation.  It  is  not  of  this  world.  It 
shall  not  appear  with  outward  parade,  like  a  great  earth'y 
Mt»narchy,  as  you  expect.  Nor  shall  its  approach  be  observed  by 
those  who  are  scrupulously,  critically,  or  contentiously  watching 
for  it.  The  reign  of  God  is  in  the  heart  and  affections  of  men. 
The  divine  influence  on  the  soul,  is  not  observed  by  those,  who 
must  have  critical,  and  problematical  demonstration,  for  every 
dogma  they  receive:  but  will  be  experienced  by  all  that  wait  be- 
fore God,  with  honest  and  ardent  minds  to  obtain  his  salvation. 

As  far  as  the  kingdom  of  the  Me&siahis  external,  or  has  an  out- 
ward appearance,  it  came  distinctly.  1.  In  the  promulgation  of 
the  Gospel  by  Christ  and  his  apostles;  and,  2,  It  was  establish- 
ed, by  the  total  overthrow  of  the  Jewish  polity,  and  the  subse- 
quent fall  of  Gentile  idolatry.  In  its  introduction,  that  which 
might  have  been  the  glory  of  Israel,  had  they  meekly  received 
Christ,  became  their  ruin;  and  like  the  cities  which  the  Lord 
overthrew,  in  the  days  of  Lot,  Jerusalem  became  the  spoil  of 
Rome,  and  the  Jewish  people,  like  a  dead  carcase,  became  a  prey 
to  be  devoured  by  the  Romans,  who  came  on  them  with  the  rapacity 
of  Eagles. 


COMING  OF  Messiah's  reign.  319 

ceded  the  flood,  they  ate,  they  drank,  they  married,  and 
were  given  in  marriage,  till  the  day  Noah  entered  the 
ark,  when  the  deluge  came  on  them  unaware,  and 
sweeping  them  away,  destroyed  them  all.  In  like  man- 
ner also,  as  in  the  days  of  Lot,  they  ate,  they  drank, 
they  bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they  builded,  but 
the  day  Lot  left  Sodom,  fire  and  brimstone,  being  rain- 
ed down  from  Heaven,  des'troyed  them  all:  even  so 
shall  it  happen  in  the  day,  when  the  Son  of  man  shall 
be  revealed  *     In  that  day,  let  not  him  that  is  on  the 


*In  the  ancient  times  of  the  world,  when  all  mankind  began  to 
apostatize  from  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  it  pleased  tlie  true  ^od 
to  select  the  illustrious  ancp-or  of  the  now  scattered  sons  of 
Israel,  to  maintain  and  perpetrate  the  true  religion.  Thus  for  a 
long  series  of  ages,  the  God  of  Nature  demonstrated  to  the  whole 
world  that  He  was  the  Gvd  of  t!v^  Church  also,  by  the  most  stu- 
pendous miracles  in  favour  of  the  chosen  family  of  Abraham. 
For  them  the  sea  was  divided,  the  tides  of  rivers  were  stopped, 
and  the  waters  rose  up  in  heaps.  Fountains  broke  forth  in  the 
desert;  decay  approached  not  their  garments,  nor  fatigue  their 
limbs.  The  god  of  the  idolaters  stood  still  in  the  temple  of 
Heaven,  and  the  moon  paused  in  her  course  at  the  voice  of  a 
mortal.  For  them  the  fire  descended  from  heaven.  God  himself 
reigned  over  them,  enthroned  in  a  pillar  of  fire  at  night,  and  a 
cloud  by  day.  He  was  their  king — He  was  their  deliverer. 
Whatever  were  their  wanderings  or  deviations  from  his  institu- 
tions; continued  miracles,  and  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  demon- 
strated the  perpetual  superintendence  of  a  presiding  Providence. 
The  records,  handed  down  from  their  fathers,  have  been  faithf  iHy 
preserved;  and  we  are  there  assured  that  the  same  power  which. 
ordained  these  wonders  for  the  family  of  Abraham  in  the  olden 
times,  will  never  leave  them,  nor  forsake  them:  "Can  a  woman 
forget  her  sucking  child?  yea,  She  may  forget,  yet  will  not  I 
forget  thee." 

IsGod  unchangeable?  Is  he  a  man  that  He  should  lie,  or  the 
gon  of  man  that  he  should  repent?  To  w!mt  condition  are  his 
people  reduced?  Nearly  two  thousand  years  have  elapsed  since 
their  holy  city  was  buriied  with  fire,  and  their  nation  scattered 
among  their  insulting  Gentile  brethren.  To  the  intolerable  suf- 
ferings of  the  sons  of  Israel  during  this  long  period,  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  make  further  allusion.  They  are  stamped  on  every 
page  of  history.  The  Jews  are  still  dispersed  over  every  part  of 
the  known  world.     "Among  us,  but  not  of  us,"  they  wander  over 


320  COMING  OP  Messiah's  reign. 

house-top  go  down  into  the  house,  to  take  away  any  of 
his  goods.  And  in  like  manner,  let  not  him  that  is  in 
the  field,  turn  back,  to  take  his  clothes.  Remember 
Lot's  wife. 

I  say  to  you,  on  that  night,  of  two  that  shall  be  on  the 
same  bed,  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left.  Of  two 
women  that  shall  be  grinding  together  at  the  mill,  one 
shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left.  Of  two  men  that 
shall  be  in  the  field,  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left. 
And  they  said  to  him:  Where,  Master?  And  he  answer- 
ed: Wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  there  will  the  eagles 
assemble. 


the  earth,  banished  from  their  holy  city — from  that  city  which  was 
the  joy  of  the  whole  earth — the  residence  of  their  prophets — the 
seat  of  tlie  greatness  of  their  kin^s — tlie  home,  and  the  capital,  as 
they  fondly  believed,  of  their  expected  Messiah.  From  the  con- 
templation of  the  former  splendour,  and  present  depression  of  the 
house  of  Israel,  should  not  the  modern  .Tew,  who  believes  in  the 
truth  of  those  sacred  books  which  have  been  transmitted  to  him 
from  his  illustrious  ancestors,  propose  to  himself  this  question? 
'•Whether  it  is  probable  that  the  God  of  their  fathers  should  thus 
consign  the  peculia'ly  favoured  family  of  Abraham  to  exile  and 
misery  the  most  intolerable,  ftir  so  long  a  space  of  time,  without 
some  adequate  cause?"  Is  it  probable  that  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city, 
the  city  of  the  gn^-dt  king,  should  be  burnt  with  fire,  and  be  trod- 
den under  foot  of  the  Gendle,  and  no  warning  voice  be  given, 
either  by  miracle,  or  by  prophecy?  V\  hen  the  I'haldeanfe  polluted 
the  sacred  territory,  and  destroyed  the  carved  work  of  the  first 
temple,  Ezekiel  denounced  the  coming  vengeance;  and  Jeremiah 
wept  night  and  day  for  the  transjiression  of  the  daughter  of  his 
people.  When  a  greater  and  more  lasting  punishment  was  about 
to  be  inflicted,  was  it  not  to  be  expected  that  a  prophet  should 
arise  among  the  people  of  God,  to  appeal  to  them,  with  the  stern 
dignity  of  Ezekiel,  or  the  tender,  yet  majestic,  eloquence  of 
Jeremiah?  The  books  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  alone,  solve 
this  difficulty,  and  assure  them  that  this  expectation  was  not  un- 
reasonable. They  tell  them  that  the  greatest  of  all  prophets  ap- 
pealed to  them — the  son  of  David  addressed  them,  but  they  would 
none  of  his  reproof. — He  toretold,  in  his  very  last  prediction, 
with  sympathizing  energy,  the  fearful  destruction  that  awaited 
their  beloved  city,  and  its  unbelieving  inhabitants;  offering  at  the 
same  time  the  means  of  salvation  to  the  faithful  tew. 

At  this  time  the  Jews,  through  all  ranks  and  classes,  were  zeal- 
ous for  the  law  of  their  fathers,  and  persecuted  to  death  every 


SECTION  EIGHTY-SIXTH. 

Nature  and  Importance  of  Prayer. 

Then  he  spake  a  parable  to  them,  to  show  them,  that 
they  ought  to  pray*  always,  and  not  to  be  discouraged. 
There  was,  in  a  certain  city,  a  Judge,  who  neither  fear- 
ed God  nor  regarded  men:  and  in  the  same  city,  there 
was  a  widow,  who,  coming  to  him,  said:  Do  me  justice 
against  my  adversary.  And  for  some  time  he  refused; 
but,  afterwards,  he  said  within  himself:  Though  [  neither 
fear  God,  nor  respect  man.  yet  because  this  woman 
teases  me,  I  will  do  her  justice,  lest,  by  coming  contin- 
ually, she  may   finally  yex  me.     Then  the  Lord  said: 


one,  even  of  their  own  nation,  who  spoke  but  with  indifference  of 
its  sanctions.  Must  not,  then,  some  uaacknoivledged  and  propor- 
tionate crime  have  been  committed,  which  could  thus  call  down 
the  just  judgment  of  the  God  of  their  fatherst  The  Christian 
Scriptures  alone  can  solve  the  mystery,  and  vindicate  the  uu- 
changeableness  of  the  Go  J  of  Isiaei.  Here  is  related  the  hither- 
to uiirepenred  and  proportionate  criaie.  They  rejected  their  long 
promised  Messiah — they  crucified  the  L^rd  of  life;  they  nailed 
him  to  the  cros>;  they  clamoured  for  his  olood.  For  this  their 
holy  city  is  left  unto  them  desolate;  for  this  they  have  been  for 
so  many  ctnturies  the  scorn,  and  outcasts  of  maukiad.  The  fall 
of  Jerusalem,  the  miseries  of  its  inhabitants,  and  the  evils  that 
have  so  long  pursued  the  sons  of  Israel,  have  been  uniformly  re- 
garded as  monuments  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  the  most 
uutleniabie  and  solemn  appeal  to  the  Jewish  natioii. 

*  We  are  here  furnished  by  the  Evangelist,  with  an  infallible  in- 
terpretation for  this  p.irable:  He  tells  us  Jesus  spake  it,  to  show 
that  men  ought  to  pray  continually,  and  not  faint  or  grow  weary. 
This  parable  contains  a  pungent  rebuke  for  all  inconstant  worship- 
pers, and  brings  assurance  Irora  Heaven,  that  persevering  prayer 
shall  be  all  prevalent,  at  the  throne  of  the  Eternal.  Moreover  the 
power  ot  habit  is  inconceivably  strong:  they  who  look  into  the  his- 
tory of  human  life  and  actions,  will  perceive  it  to  be  almost  incon- 
querable,  ,\n(\  its  effects  exceedingly  great.  VVhat  then  can  be  bet- 
ter, than  to  habituate  the  soul  to  that  life  of  hu:nility,  sobriety^  pa- 
tience,  foroearunce^  and  devotion,  which  are  the  inevitable  atten- 
dants of  habitual  prayer.  The  just  administration  of  Heaven  will 
take  into  account  the  devoted  life  of  those,  who  worship  and  rever- 
ence God,  and  steadfastly  stand  forth  as  witnesses  for  religion  on 
the  earth. 


822      NATURE  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  PRAYER. 

Hear  what  this  unjust  Judge  says:  and  will  not  God  vin- 
dicate the  cause  of  his  elect,  who  are  crying  to  him  day 
and  night;  and  have  compassion  on  them?  He  will,  I 
assure  you,  vindicate  their  cause  speedily.  Neverthe- 
less, when  the  Son  of  man  comes,  shall  he  find  this  be- 
lief* in  this  land? 

Then  he  also  spake  this  parable,  concerning  those 
who  are  confident  of  their  own  righteousness  and  des- 
pise others:  Two  menf  went  to  the  temple  to  pray,  the 
one  a  Pharisee,  and  the  other  a  tax-gatherer.  The 
Pharisee,  standing  by  himself,  prayed  thus:  God  1  thank 
thee,  that  I  am  not  like  the  rest  of  mankind;  avaricious, 
unjust,  adulterous;  I  fasi  twice  a  week;  I  pay  tithes  of  all 
that  I  possess.  But  the  tax-gatherer,  standing  at  a  dis- 
tance, would  not  even  lift  his  eyes  towards  Heaven,  but 
smiting  his  breast,  said:  O  God,  be  propitiatedj  for  me, 


*  The  belief  that  Christ  would  come  suddenly  as  he  bad  predict- 
ed in  the  foregoing  Section,  and  tl';;t  God  would  surely  hear  the 
cries  and  vindicate  the  wrongs  of  his  professing  and  devoted 
people. 

t  A  Pharisee  and  a  Tax-gatherer  are  here  placed  in  contrast.  They 
both  go  to  the  to mple,  expi  tssly  for  prayer;  they  are  both  con- 
vinced oi  Its  uulily  and  importance;  and  both  assemble  at  the  place 
appointed  by  God,  to  invoke  his  preserving  aid,  and  pardoning 
mercy.  The  Pharisee  thanks  God  ior  his  distinguishing  grace,  in 
preserving  him  from  the  vices  and  unhallowed  occupations  of  others. 
This  was  right.  God  alone  can  make  one  man  to  differ  from  ano- 
ther, in  virtue  and  religion;  and  he  who  pays  no  regard  to  the  na- 
ture of  his  worldly  business,  nor  his  reputation  among  men,  shuts, 
in  a  great  degree,  the  door  of  the  divine  favour  and  mercy.  The 
fault  of  the  Pharisee  w^s,  that  his  prayer  was  limited  to  thanksgiv- 
ing alone.  •  He  did  not  sufficiently  feel  his  soul's  poverty,  and  sue 
for  acceptance  through  a  Mediator.  The  Publican's  prayer  was 
also  defective,  it  consisted  in  petition  alone,  but  that  petition  was 
presented  through  the  medium,  which  God  had  appointed,  expiatory 
sacrifice. 

I  U«o-vriTt  jixot — be  propitiated  towards  me  through  sacrifice — or, 
let  an  atonement  be  made  for  me.  1  am  a  sinner,  and  cannot  be 
saved  but  in  this  way.  The  Greek  word  <x«a-xw,  or  iXourKOfxM,  often 
signifies  to  make  expiation  for  sin;  and  is  used  by  the  Septuaginty 
Psal:  Ixv.  4.  Ixxviii.  38.  Ixxix.  9.  for  kipper,  he  made  an  atonement. 
So  tXac/xo?,  a  propitiation,  is  used  by  the  same  for  chataah,  a  sacrifice 


NATURE  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  PRAYER.      32S 

a  sinner.     I  tell  you  this  man  went  home  more  acquit- 
ted than  the  other. 


for  sin,  Ezek.  xliv.  27;  and  »x«o-Tr)|tov,  the  mercy-seat,  is,  in  the  above 
version,  the  translation  oi'  kapjjoreth,  the  lid  of  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, on  and  before  which  the  blood  of  the  expiatory  victim  was 
sprinkled  on  the  great  day  of  atonement.  The  verb  is  ns-^d  in  ex- 
actly the  same  sense  by  the  best  Greek  writers.  The  following 
from  Herodotus,  lib.  i.  p.  19.  edit.  Gale,  is  f'lll  in  point,  ©uo-mo-t 
y^eyxKnTv  to?  ev  AsX^oir*  Seov  IAASKETO.  Crossus  appeased,  or  made 
an  atonement  to  the  Delphic  god  by  iaimense  sacrifices.  We  see  then, 
at  once,  the  reason  why  our  blessed  Lord  said  that  the  tax-gatherer 
went  down  to  his  house  justified  rather  than  the  other: — he  ?ou<fht  for 
mercy  through  an  atonement  for  sin,  which  was  the  only  w  ly  in 
which  God  had,  from  the  beginning,  purposed  to  save  sinners.  As 
the  Pharisees  depended  on  his  doing  no  harm,  and  observing  the 
ordinances  of  religion,  for  his  acceptance  with  God;  according  to  the 
economy  of  grace  and  justice,  he  must  be  rejected;  for  as  all  had 
sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  no  man  could  make 
an  atonement  for  his  sins,  so  he  that  did  not  take  refuge  in  that 
which  God's  mercy  had  provided,  must  be  excluded  from  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  This  was  no  new  doctrine: — it  was  the  doctrine 
publicly  and  solemnly  preached  by  every  sacrifice  offered  under  the 
Jewish  law.  Without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission,  was 
the  loud  and  constant  cry  of  the  whoie  Vlosaic  economy.  From 
this  we  may  see  what  it  is  to  have  a  righteousness  superior  to  that 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pb;irisees.  We  mist /i«'/i6/c  ourselves  before 
God,  which  they  did  not:  we  must  lake  refuge  in  the  blood  of  the 
cross,  which  they  would  not. 


SECTION  EIGHTY  SEVENTH. 

The  Cure  of  the  Man  born  blind. 

As  he  passed  along,  he  saw  a  man  who  had  been  born 
blind.  And  his  disciples  asked  him,  saying:  Master, 
who  sinned;*  this  man  or  his  parents,  that  he  was  born 

*For  the  illustration  of  this  question,  it  maybe  necessary  to 
notice  four  doctrines^  which  were  believed  by  the  Jews  in  the 
time  of  Christ.  1.  The  doctrine  of  the  pre-existence  of  souls; 
2.  The  doctrine  of  Metempsychosis  or  transmigration  of  souls. 


,324     THE  CURE  OF  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND. 

blind?  Jesus  answered:  Neither  on  account  of  the  sia 
of  the  man  nor  his  parents  but  that  the  works  of  God 
might  be  manifested  in  him.  I  must  do  the  work  of  him 
who  sent  me,  while  it  is  day;  night  cometh  when  no 
man  can  work.  While  1  am  in  the  world,  I  am  the 
light  of  the  world.  Having  said  this,  he  spat  on  the 
ground,  and  with  the  clay  which  he  made  with  the  spit- 
tle, anointed  the  blind  man's  eyes,  and  said  to  him:  Go 
wash  thine  eyes  in  the  pool  of  Siloam.  He  went  there- 
fore and  washed  them,  and  returned  seeing. 

Then  the  neighbours,  and  they  who  had  before  seen 
him  blind,  said:  Is  not  this  he  who  sat  and  begged? 
Some  said:  It  is  he;  others:  He  is  like  him.  H.^  said: 
I  am  he.  They  asked  him  then:  How  didst  thou  re- 
ceive thy  sight.*^  He  ansuered:  A  man  railed  Jesus, 
made  clay  and  anointed  mine  eyes,  and  said  to  me:  Go 
to  the  pool  of  Siioam  and  wash  thine  eyes.  I  went  ac- 
cordingly and  washed  them,  and  saw.  Then  they  asked 
him:  Where  is  he?     He  answered:  I  know  not. 


3.  Tlie  doctrine  of  hereditary  sin.     4.  The  doctrine  of  infantile 
peccability. 

1.  The  pre-exisfence  of  souls.  Philo  says:  Angels,  Demons, 
and  Souls,  are  substances  of  the  same  nature,  differing  only  ia 
name;  and  as  there  are  good  and  bad  angels,  so  there  are  good 
and  bad  souls.  Angels  and  souls  reside  in  the  purer  and  higher 
regions  of  the  air,  from  which  they  descend  into  bodies,  and  bring 
hither  their  good  and  bad  qualities.  It  was  the  belief  of  the  Jews 
that  God  created  all  souls  at  the  beginning,  and  that  they  came 
down  to  join  themselves  to  bodies.  The  Platonic  philosophy,  of 
which  the  famous  Origen  was  an  eminent  advocate,  maintained 
that  souls  in  a  pre-existent  state  were  condemned  to  enter  into 
gross  earthly  bodies,  for  sins  committed  by  them  before  their 
incarnation.  Ihe  wisdom  of  Solomon  acknowledges  this  doc- 
trine: Being  good  I  came  into  a  body  undejiled.     Wisdom.  8.  20. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  transmigration.  This  was  an  article  of  (he 
Pharisees'  creed,  and  was  generally  believed  by  the  Greeks  and 
Asiatics.  According  to  Pythagoras,  guilty  souls  after  their  sepa- 
ration from  their  bodies  by  death,  were  sent  back  to  animate  other 
bodies,  or  even  bodies  of  an  inferior  order  of  animals,  according 
to  their  conduct  or  habits  in  their  life  time  on  earth.  The  Hin- 
doos are  believers  of  this  doctrine;  and  imagine,  that  they  can 


THE  CURE  OF  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND.     S25 

Now  it  was  on  a  Sabbath  that  Jesus  made  the  clay 
and  gave  him  his  sight.  So  they  brought  him  who  had 
been  blind  to  the  Pharisees,  and  therefore-  the  Pharisees 
likewise  asked  him,  how  he  had  received  his  sight.''  He 
answered:  He  put  clay  on  mine  eyes,  and  I  washed  them, 
and  now  see.  Some  of  the  Pharisees  said:  This  man  is- 
not  from  God,  for  he  observes  not  the  Sabbath.  Others 
said:  How  can  one  that  is  a  sinner  perform  such  ndira- 
clf'S.''  And  they  were  divided  among  themselves.  Again 
they  asked  the  man  who  had  been  blind:  What  sayest 
thou  of  him  for  giving  thee  sight.'*  He  answered:  He 
is  a  Prophet. 

But  the  Jews  believed  not  that  the  man  had  been 
blind,  and  had  received  his  sight,  until  they  called  his 


tell  the  sin  for  which  the  soul  has  been  condemned  to  return  to 
inhabit  its  present  body.  Hence  they  say,  madness  betokens 
former  disobedience  to  parents  or  spirifiia!  instructors.  Blind- 
ness or  pain  in  the  ejes,  the  punishment  for  impure  desires. 

3.  The  doctrine  of  hereditary  sin.  This  doctrine  was  pro- 
verbial in  the  days  of  Ezekiel,  Chap.  18.  2,  19.  The  Jews  say, 
Adam  and  Eve,  having  sinned  by  the  advice  of  the  serpent/be- 
came  the  cause  of  death  to  themselves,  and  all  the  world;  and  as 
the  word  death,  is  repeated,  in  the  threateriing:  dying  thou  shalt 
die;  they  say  this  double  death  implies;  first  the  death  of  the  body 
for  its  sin  by  itself,  and  secondly  the  death  of  the  soul  by  itselr, 
for  its  own  guilt.     See  the  authorities  quoted  by  Gill  on  Rimi.  5.  12. 

But  they  believed  also  the  liability  of  children  to  suiT'r  for  the 
sins  of  their  proper  parents,  according  to  the  denunciation  of  the 
Law,  Exod.  20.  5.  As  has  been  noted  concerning;  the  opinions  of 
the  Hindoos,  so  the  Jews  professed  to  account  for  infirmities  of 
the  body,  by  ascribing  them  to  corresponding  sins,  in  the  parents. 
Hence  they  believed  blindness  to  be  the  punishment  inflicted  on 
the  offspring,  for  the  parents'  off- ace  against  the  Law,  Lev.  20. 
18;  which  is  also  mentioned  by  the  Prophet,  Ezek.  18.  6. 

4.  Infantile  peccability .  Lightfoot  on  tliis  pas-age,  has  adduced 
several  authorities,  to  prove  thai  tht  llabbins  believed  that,  it 
was  possible  for  a  child  to  sin  before  its  birth;  and  consequently 
to  be  born  with  some  mark  of  bodily  infirmity  in  consequence  of 
its  sin  in  the  womo.  But  it  was  m.)re  common  to  ascribe  these, 
infirmities  to  the  sins  of  the  mother  during  the  time  of  gesta- 
tion. See  A.  Clarke,  Hammond,  Le  Clerc  and  Rosenmi^Uer  on 
John  9.  a. 

42 


i      THE  CURE  OF  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND. 

parents  and  asked  them:  Is  this  your  son  who  was  born 
blind?  How  then  does  he  now  see?  His  parents  an- 
swered: We  know  that  this  is  our  son,  and  that  he  was 
born  blind;  but  how  he  now  sees  we  know  not.  He  is 
of  age,  ask  him;  he  will  answer  for  himself.  His  pa- 
rents spoke  thus,  because  they  feared  the  Jews:  for  the" 
Jews  had  already  determined,  that  whosoever  acknow^ 
ledged  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah  should  be  expelled*  the 
synagogue.  For  this  reason  his  parents  said:  He  is  of 
age,  ask  him. 

A  second  time,  therefore,  they  called  the  man  who  had 
been  born  blind,  and  said  lo  nim:  Give  glory  to  God;  we 
know  that  this  man  is  a  sinner.  He  replied:  Whether 
he  be  a  sinner,  I  know  not:  one  thing  I  know,  that  I 


*  Excommunication  with  the  Jews  was  not  only  on  religious, 
but  also  on  civil  accounts;  on  account  of  money,  or  when  a 
man  would  not  pay  his  debts,  according  to  the  decree  of  the  San-- 
hedrim.  The  twenty-four  reasons  of  excommunication,  given 
by  Maimonides,  chiefly  respect  contempt  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and 
of  the  wise  men,  and  breach  of  the  traditions  of  the  eldersj  some- 
times they  excommunicated  for  immorality,  particularly  the  Es- 
senes,  as  Josephus  relates,  who  says,  that  those  who  are  taken  in 
grievous  sins,  they  cast  -ut  of  (heir  order;  and  he  that  is  so 
dealt  with  commonly  dies  a  miserable  death;  for  being  bound  by 
oaths  and  cuscums,  he  cannot  eat  the  food  of  others,  and  so 
starves.  The  same  is  reported  by  Ra'obi  Abraham  Zachuth. 
Sometimes  excommunication  was  for  Epicurism,  or  heresy,  and 
such  they  reckoned  the  belief  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  as  the  Mes- 
siah, on  "account  of  which  this  decree  was  made. 

There  were  three  degrees  of  oxcommuiiication  among  the  Jews, 
the  first  is  what  is  called  niddai,  or  in  the  New  Testament,  cast- 
ing out  of  the  Synagogue,  and  signifies  a  separation  from  ail  com- 
merce or  society,  it  was  in  force  thirty  days,  but  mi^ht  be  short- 
ened by  repentance.  If  the  person  persisted  in  his  obstinacy 
after  the  thirty  days  were  expired,  they  excommunicated  him 
a"-ain,  with  the  addition  of  a  solemn  curse  called  cherem.  This 
is  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  same  with  delivering  him  over  to 
Satan.  The  offence  was  published  in  the  synagogue,  and  at  this 
time,  the  candles  were  lighted,  and  when  the  proclamation  was 
ended,  they  were  put  out,  as  a  sign  that  the  person  excommuni- 
cated was  deprived  jf  the  light  of  heaven;  his  goods  were  confis- 
cated; iiis  male  children  were  not  admitted  to  circumcision;  and 


THE  CURE  OF  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND.      S2T 

fras  blind,  and  now  see.  They  said  to  him  again: 
What  did  he  to  thee.''  How  did  he  make  thee  see.''  He 
answered:  I  told  you  before,  did  ye  not  hear.''  Why 
would  ye  hear  it  repeated.''  Will  ye  also  be  his  disci- 
ples.'' Then  they  reviled  him  and  said:  Thou  art  his 
disciple.  As  for  us,  we  are  disciples  of -Moses.  We 
know  that  God  spake  to  Moses;  but  we  know  not 
whence  this  man  is.  The  man  replied:  This  is  sur- 
prising that  ye  know  not  whence  he  came,  although  he 
has  given  me  sight.  We  know  that  God  hears  not  sin- 
ners; but  if  any  man  worship  God,  and  obey  him,  that 
man  he  hears:  Never  was  it  heard  before  that  any  man 
gave  sight  to  one  born  blind.  If  this  man  were  not  from 
God,  he  could  do  no  such  thing.     They  replied:  Thou 


if  he  died  without  repentance,  by  the  sentence  of  the  Judge  a 
stone  was  cast  upon  his  coffin  or  bier,  to  shew  that  he  deserved  to 
be  stoned.  He  was  not  mourned  for  with  any  solemn  lamenta- 
tion. The  last  degree  of  excommunication  was  the  Maranatha, 
\rhich  was  inflicted  when  the  offender  had  frequently  refused  to 
comply  with  the  sentence  of  the  court,  and  was  attended  with 
corporal  punishment,  and  sometimes  with  banishment  or  death. 

Sometimes  this  seritence  was  pronounced  by  word  of  mouth,  and 
aometimesit  was  delivered  in  writinq;:  the  form  of  Cherem  is  given 
us  by  Buxtorf,  out  of  an  ancient  Hebrew  manuscript,  and  is  as 
follows: 

"According  to  the  mind  of  the  Lord  of  lords,  let  such  an  one, 
the  son  of  such  an  one,  be  in  Cherem,  or  anathematized,  in  both 
houses  of  judgment  of  those  above,  and  those  below;  and  with 
the  anathema  of  the  saints  on  hig-h,  with  the  anathema  of  the 
Sernphim  and  Ophanim,  and  with  the  anatheaia  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation, great  and  small;  let  great  and  real  stripes  be  upon  him, 
and  many  and  violent  diseases;  and  let  his  house  be  an  habitation 
of  dragons;  and  let  his  star  be  dark  in  the  clouds;  and  let  him 
be  for  indignation,  wrath,  and  anger;  and  let  his  carcase  be  for 
beasts  and  serpents;  and  let  those  that  rise  'ip  against  him,  and 
his  enemies,    rejoice  over   him;  and  let  his  silver  and  his  gold  be 

fiven  to  otiiers:  and  let  all  his  children  be  exposed  at  the  gate  of 
is  enemies,  and  at  his  day  may  others  be  amazed;  and  let  him 
be  cursed  from  the  niouih  of  tlie  angels  Addiriion  and  Actariel, 
and  likewise  from  the  mouth  of  the  angels  Sandalphon 
and  Hadraniel,  and  from  the  mouth  of  Ansisiel  and  Patchiel, 
and  fiwn  the  mouth  of  Seraphiel  and  Zaj^anzael,   and  from  the 


'i::^ 


$tS  THE  CURE  OP  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND. 

wast  altogether  born  in  sins,  and  dost  thou  teach  us? 
And  they  cast  him  out.  Jesus  heard  that  they  had  ex- 
communicated him.  and  having  met  him,  said:  Dost 
thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God.''  He  answered:  Who 
is  he,  Master,  that  I  may  believe  on  him.''  Jesus  said  to 
him:  Not  only  hast  thou  seen  him;  but  it  is  he  who 
talks  with  thee.  And  he  cried:  IVIaster,  I  believe,  and 
threw  himself  prostrate  before  him.  And  Jesus  said: 
For  judgment  am  I  come  into  this  world,  that  they  who 
see  not,  may  see ;  and  they  who  see  may  become  blind. 
Some  Pharisees,  who  were  present,  hearing  this,  said  to 
him:  Are  we  also  blind.'*  Jesus  answered:  If  ye  were 
blind,  ye  would  not  have  sin;  but  ye  say,  We  see; 
therefore  your  sin  remains. 


mouth  of  Michael  and  Gabriel,  and  from  the  mouth  of  Raphael 
and  Meshartiel;  and  let  him  be  anathenm  ized  from  the  mouth  of 
Tzabtzabib,  and  from  the  mouth  of  Habhabib,  he  is  Jehovah  the 
Great,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  seventy  names  of  the  great 
king,  and  from  the  side  of  Tzortak  the  great  chancellor;  and  let 
him  be  swallowed  up  as  Korah  and  his  company,  with  terror,  and 
with  trembling;  let  his  soul  go  out;  let  the  reproof  of  the  Lord 
kill  him;  and  let  him  be  stranjrled  as  Ahitophel  in  his  counsel; 
and  let  his  leprosy  be  as  the  leprosy  of  Gehazi;  and  let  there  be 
no  raising  him  up  from  his  fall;  and  in  the  sepulchres  of  Israel  let 
not  his  grave  be;  and  let  his  wife  be  given  to  another;  and  let 
others  profane  her  at  his  death;  in  this  anathema,  let  such 
an  one,  the  son  of  such  an  one,  be,  and  let  this  be  his  inheritance; 
but  upon  me,  and  upon  all  Israel,  may  God  extend  his  peace  and 
his  blessing.    Amen." 


SECTION  EIGHTY  EIGHTH. 

Parable  of  the  Shepherd  and  Sheep. 

Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he   who  enters  not 
by   the  door  into  the  sheep-fold,  but  climbs  over  the 


Calniet  says,  Christ  having  declared  himself  to  be  the  light  of  the 
»orldf  which  should  blind  some   whilst  it  illuminated  others,  Joh» 


PARABLE  OF  THE  SHEPHERD  AND  SHEEP.    529 

fence,  is  a  thief  and  a  robber.  The  shepherd*  al- 
ways enters  by  the  door.  To  him  the  door-keeper 
opens,  and  the  sheep  obey  his  voice.  His  own  sheep 
he  calls  by  name  and  leads  out.  And  haying  brought 
out  his  sheep,   he  walks  before  them,  and  they  follow 


9.  41,  continues  his  discourse  under  the  similitude  of  a  shepherd 
and  his  flock;  and  shows  that  he  iv  is  about  to  form  his  Church  of 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  that  he  would  admit  none  to  enter  into  it 
but  those  who  he;ird  his  voice.  Ihe  unbelieving  and  self-sufficient 
Jews,  Pharisees,  or  Deists,  who  imagine  they  see  dearly,  while 
they  are  blind,  hear  not  the  voice  of  Christ,  and  therefore  are  not 
his  sheep.  The  blind  who  are  ilhiiumated,  are  all  believers,  whether 
Jews  or  Gentiles,  who  receive  Christ  as  their  shepherd  and  guide, 
and  turn  from  their  iniquities. 

*  Sir  Isaac  Newton  supposes  this  parable  was  spoken  near  the 
temple,  where  sheep  were  kept  in  folds  to  be  sold  for  sacrifices. 
Hence  it  happens  that  Christ  speaks  many  things  parabolically  con- 
cerning the  sheep,  their  shepherds,  the  folds,  the  door,  and  the 
door-keeper:  concerning  each  of  these  we  shall  offer  a  few  obser- 
Tations. 

1.  The  Shepherd.  The  good  shepherd  of  God's  people,  is  here 
distinguished  by  the  five  following  characteristics: 

1.  He  has  a  legal  and  regular  induction  into  the  sacred  ministry, 
which  is  known  by  these  marks:  An  internal  call  or  impulse,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  spirit  of  God,  pressing  the  man  to  enter  into  tHfe 
holy  ministry,  from  no  other  motives  but  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
promotion  of  the  Redeemer's  work  in  the  conversion  and  salvation 
of  mankind;  secondly,  by  suitable  qualifications  for  such  important 
services;  and  thirdly,  by  due  election  and  consecration  to  the  office 
by  regular  and  pious  ministers. 

2.  His  success.  God  sets  before  him  an  open  door.  Rev.  8.  8. 
The  porter  opens  to  him,  and  the  sheep  hear  and  obey  his  instruc- 
tions.    John  10.  3;   1  Cor.  16.  9;  2  Cor.  2.  13;  Col.  4.  3. 

9.  He  has  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  his  flock.  John  10.  3, 
14.  He  knows  his  sheep,  and  calls  his  own  sheep  by  name.  A 
true  spiritual  pastor  will  be  able  to  discern  every  member  of 
Christ's  Church;  for  his  concern  for  their  souls  will  lead  to  such 
inquiries  and  acquaintance  as  will  result  in  a  certain  understanding 
of  the  religious  experience  of  each  individual  of  his  flock. 

4.  The  good  pastor  goes  before  his  flock,  and  leads  them,  John 
10.  3,  4.  He  stores  in  his  mind  all  useful  religious  knowledge,  and 
is  always  ready  to  speak  a  word  in  season,  and  like  the  good  house- 
holder, or  scribe  well  instructed,  he  brings  forth  from  his  treasury 
things  new  and  old,  Matt.  13.  52;    so  that  the  people  are  never 


t 


5iJ0    PARABLE  ©F  THE  SHEPHERD  AND  SHSEP. 

him,  because  they  know  his  voice.  They  will  not  fol- 
low a  stranger,  but  flee  from  him,  because  they  Enow 
not  the  voice  of  stran^jers.  Jesus  addressed  this  simili- 
tude to  them,  but  they  did  not  comprehend  what  he  said. 
He  therefore  added:  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I  am 


•wenried  or  difsgu^ted  with  theii  spiritual  provisions;  and  further,  h© 
walks  before  his  tlock,  a  living  example  of  that  faith  and  obedience 
which  he  inculcates. 

5.  He  feels  such  a  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual  and  eternal  wel- 
ware  of  his  flock,  thnt  he  is  willing  not  only  to  sacrifice  all  that  he 
has,  but  even  his  life  for  their  sakes.  John  10.  11,  1 5.  In  all  these 
marks  the  good  shepherd  differs  from  the  impostor,  the  thief  OP 
robber,  who^^e  sole  object  in  pretending  to  take  on  him  the  name 
and  cares  of  a  shepherd,  is  honour,  ease  or  gain. 

2.  The  Sheep.  These  are  the  true  members  of  Christ's  Church. 
They  were  given  by  the  Father  to  Christ,  to  be  instructed,  re- 
deemed, and  saved.  Jesus  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  them,  and 
they  became  his  by  purchase  on  his  part,  and  faith  and  obedience 
on  theirs.  They  know  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  follow 
him.  Notwithstanding  many  say:  Lo!  here  is  Christ;  or  lo!  be  is 
there,  yet  the  voice  ot  eternal  truth,  so  far  as  is  essential  to  faith, 
obedience,  and  s;ilvation,  is  distinguished  by  them,  and  ever  will 
be,  by  all,  who  in  lerverit  prayer  and  purily  of  manners,  solicit 
the  guidance  of  God's  holy  spirit  Truth  is  known  by  its  harmony 
and  practical  effects.  Hence  all  the  sheep  follow  Jesus.  He 
knows  their  names,  for  they  are  all  written  in  his  book  of  life. 
They   are  called.,  faithful,  and  chosen.     But  besides  these  general 

"appellatives,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  believe  their 
very  names  and  sirnames  to  be  marked  in  the  register  of  life,  and 
enumerated  in  the  council  of  peace  between  the  Father  and  the 
Son.  In  allusion,  therefore,  to  the  custom  of  the  Easterns,  who 
gave  names  to  their  sheep,  and  to  the  practice  of  the  shepherd  going 
beibre  the  flock,  and  calling  the  sheep  by  their  name!-,  Jesus  ex- 
presses his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  very  names  and  disposi- 
tions of  his  sheep. 

3.  The  Fold.  This  is  the  Church  of  God,  including  all  believers 
in  Jesus,  but  no  more.  All  that  enter,  must  pass  through  the  door 
Christ.  Into  this  (old  the  Jewish  people  were  first  invited,  and 
many  of  them  entered:  but  Jesus  said,  he  had  other  sheep,  which 
were  not  of  that  told,  namely,  the  Gentiles,  who  afterwards  be- 
lieved. These  he  said  he  would  bring,  and  there  would  be  only 
one  lold  and  one  shepherd, 

4.  The  Door.  Jesus  says:  1  am  the  door.  The  expression  is 
Gpnfessedly  figurative,  and  implies  his  mediation  or  institutions. 


PARABLE  OF  THl  SHEPHERD  AND  SHEEP.    331 

the  door  of  tli«  fold.  All  who  have  come  before  me*  are  ^ 

thieves  and  robbers,  but  the  sheep  obeyed  the  n   not.     I  v-Vr 

am  the  door:  such  as  enter  by  me  shall   be   safe:    the^  t^^ 

shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find  pasture.     The  tbief  coney  g 

only  to  steal,  to  slay,  and  to  destroy.     I  ain  co  rie  that  /if 

they  may  have  life,  and  abund mce  of  all  good  things. 

I  am  the  good  shepherd.  The  good  shepherd  givBS 
his  life  for  the  sheep.  The  hireling,  who  is  noi  the 
shepherd,  and  to  whom  the  sheep  does  not  belong,  when 
he  sees  the  wolf  coming,  abandons  the  sheep  and  flees: 
and  the  wolf  tears  some,  and  disperses  the  flock.  The 
hireling  flees,  because  he  is  a  hireling,  and  cares  not  for 
the  sheep.  lam  the  good  shepherd.  1  both  know  my 
own,  and  am  known  by  them;  even  as  the  Father  knows 
me,  and    I  know  the   Father;  and  I  give  my  life  for 

All  who  enter  the  Church,  whether  as  shepherd  or  sheep,  must 
enter  by  Christ;  that  is,  by  profession  of  his  religion,  and  submis- 
sion to  the  rules  or  discipline,  which  Christ  has  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly taught,  for  the  admission  and  goverriinent  of  his  Church  on 
earth.  None  can  enter  the  true  Church  without  laith  in  Christ's 
mediatorial  authority  and  expiatory  sacrifice. 

*The  words  tt^o  E/xa,  before  me,  are  wanting  in  many  respectable 
MSS.  in  the  Syriac,  Vulgate,  and  several  other  versions;  and  also 
in  the  writings  of  some  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers.  Probably 
the  reason  assigned  by  Theophylac  is  the  true  cause  of  tlieir  first 
omission.  He  says  some  of  the  Manicheans  inferred  from  these 
words  that  the  Jewish  prophets  were  impostors.  The  ditficulty  of 
explaining  the  phrase,  may  have  led  to  its  omission.  The  most 
reasonable  interpretation  is,  either  all  that  have  come  before  me 
professing  to  be  doors,  were  thieves  and  robbers;  or  all  that  came 
instead  of  mc,  that  is,  professing  to  be  doors.  Though  tliere  be 
tome  obscurity  in  the  expression,  yet  as  it  is  figurative,  the  me-m- 
ing  should  not  be  sought  in  penect  conformity  with  a  phrase  that 
may  be  said  to  be  both  literal  and  (igurative.  Jesus  says  I  am  the 
door,  all  other  pretended  doors  are  impostors.  Or  it  the  words 
before  me,  are  rejected,  the  reading  will  be:  All  other  doors  who 
have  come  are  thieves  and  robbers.  The  word  doors  bein^  un- 
derstood. 

6.  The  Door-keeper.  Jesus  by  this  appellation,  designates  either 
God  the  Father,  as  when  he  says  that  the  porter  opens  to  the 
shepherd  ot  the  sheep,  John  10.  3.  and  that  the  Father  was  equally 
concerned   in  taking  care  of  the  sheep,  John  10.  29;  or  he  mav 


>#• 


3S2        PARABLE   OP   THE    SHEPHERD   AND    SHEEP. 

the  sheep.  I  have  other  sheep  besides,  which  are  not 
of  this  fold.  Them  I  must  also  bring;  and  they  will 
obey  my  voice;  and  there  shall  be  one  flock,  and  one  shep- 
herd. For  this  the  Father  loves  me,  because  I  give  my 
life,  that  I  may  receive  it  again.  No  one  takes  it  by 
force  from  me;  but  I  give  it  of  myself.  I  have  power 
to  give  it,  and  I  have  power  to  resume  it.  This  com- 
mission I  have  received  from  my  Father.  Again  there 
was  a  division  among  the  Jews  occasioned  by  this  dis- 
course. Many  of  them  said:  He  has  a  demon,  and  is 
mad,  why  do  ye  hear  him.''  Others  said:  These  are  not 
the  words  of  a  demoniac.  Can  a  demon  give  sight  to 
the  blind. 

mean  that  delegated  authority,  which  God  and  Christ  have  given  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Church,  to  open  or  shut  the  door  of  the  fold» 
according  to  the  divine  appointment. 


SECTION  EIGHTY  NINTH. 

The  Feast  of  the  Dedication. 

Now  whilst  they  were  celebrating  the  feast  of  the 
dedication*  at  Jerusalem,  it  being  stormy  weather;  Jesus 


*The  feast  of  Dedication  was  instituted  by  Judas  Maccabeus,  164 
years  before  Christ,  as  a  grateful  memorial  of  the  purification  of 
the  temple  and  altar,  after  they  had  been  defiled  by  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes.  Having  heard  that  the  Jews  made  great  rejoicings,  on  ac- 
count of  a  report  of  his  death,  he  hastened  from  Egypt  to  Jerusa- 
lem, took  the  city  by  storm,  and  slew  of  the  inhabitants  forty  thou- 
sand, within  three  days,  and  sold  forty  thousand  more  for  slaves  to 
the  neighbouring  nations.  He  then  sacrificed  a  sow  on  the  altar  of 
burned  offerings,  and  sprinkled  of  the  broth  of  it,  all  over  the  tem- 
ple. This  he  diJ  in  the  year  167  before  Christ,  and  stopped  the 
services  for  three  years.  Judas  Maccabeus  having  cleansed  and 
wepaired  the  temple,  restored  the  services,  and  instituted  this  festi- 
val in  imitation  of  those  of  Solomon  and  Ezra.  John  notices  that  it 
was  winter  when  this  festival  was  celebrated,  and  therefore,  it  was 
not  in  memory  of  the  dedication  by  Solomon,  for  that  was  in  autumn, 


TJHE  FEAST  OF  THE  DEDICATION.  333 

walked  in  the  temple  in  Solomon's  portico,*  and  the  Jews 
surrounding  him,  said  to  him:  How  long  wilt  thou  keep 
us  in  suspense?  If  thou  he  the  Messiah,  tell  us  plainly. 
Jesus  answered,  I  told  you,  but  ye  believed  not;  the 
works  which  I  do  in  my  Father's  name  testify  of  me. 
But  ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep. 
My  sheep,  as  I  told  you,  obey  my  voice  ;f  I  know  them, 
and  they  follow  me.  Besides,  1  give  them  eternal  life; 
and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  wrest  them 
out  of  my  hands  My  Father,  who  gave  them  me,  is 
greater  than  all;  and  none  can  wrest  them  out  of  my 
Father's  hand.     I  and  the  Father  are  one.| 

1  Kings  8.  2.  65.  Nor  was  it  in  memory  of  the  dedication  of  the 
temple  rebuilt  by  Zorohabel,  for  that  dedication  was  in  spring,  Ezra 
6.  15.  But  in  memory  of  the  restoration  of  the  temple  service  by 
Maccabeus,  on  the  twenty-tifth  of  the  month  Cisleu,  answering  to 
the  tenth  of  December. 

This  feast  was  also  called  by  the  .T^ws  t^wra,  or  the  feast  of 
Lights,  because  their  houses  were  illuminated  during  the  festival,  in 
testimony  of  their  joy  and  gladness  on  that  memorable  occasion. 
It  was  usual  says  Maimonides,  for  each  house  to  light  a  lamp,  the 
first  night  of  the  festival,  for  every  inhabit  mt,  and  to  add  one  every 
night  during  the  festival;  so  that  it  a  house  contained  ten  inhabitants, 
there  were  ten  lamps  lighted  the  tirst  night,  twenty  the  second,  thir- 
ty the  third,  and  so  on  in  proportion,  during  the  eight  days  of  the 
festival.  This  feast  was  celebrated  with  great  solemnity,  in  the 
time  of  Josephus. 

*  Solomon's  Portico  was  to  the  east  of  the  temple,  looking  over  a 
deep  valley,  through  which  ran  the  brook  Kedron,  which  separated 
the  city  from  the  mount  of  Olives.  Part  of  this  valley  had  been 
filled  up  to  support  this  portico.  Though  this  work  had  been 
probably  destroyed,  together  with  the  temple  of  Solomon,  by  the 
Babylonians,  yet  another  being  built  on  the  same  ground,  retained 
the  same  namp.  This  portico  is  also  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Acts.  The  temple  was  well  furnished  with  these  porticos,  or 
piazzas,  and  they  were  exceedingly  convenient  for  those  who  at- 
tended there,  either  in  the  heat  of  summer,  or  the  rains  of  winter, 
t  The  art  of  a  shepherd  in  managing  his  sheep  in  the  East,  was  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  is  among  us.  We  n  ad  of  his  going  before,  lead- 
ing, calling  his  sheep,  and  their  following,  and  knowing  his  voice;  this 
practice  is  alluded  to  by  both  Virgil  and  Theocritus. 

I  My  Father  and  I  are  one.     IVIany  have  inferred    that  by  this 
phrase  Jesus  intended  to  say,  that  he  and  the  Father  are  the  sam-e 

4.3 


334  THE  FEAST  OF    THE  DEDICATION. 

Then  the  Jews  again  took  up  stones  to  stone  him. 
Jesus  said  to  them:  Many  good  works  J  have  shown  you 
from  rav  Father;  for  which  of  those  works  do  ye  stone 
me?  The  Jews  answered:  For  a  good  work,  we  do  nofe 
stone  thee;  but  for  blasDheoiy,  because  thou,  being  man, 
makest  thyself  God  *  Je?i'S  r3plied:  Is  it  not  written 
in  your  law,  I  said,  ye  an-  gods?  If  the  law  styled  them 
gods  to  whom  the  word  of  God  was  addressed,  and  if 
the  language  of  scripture  is  unexceptionable;  do  ye 
charge  him  with  blasphemy,  whom  the  Father  has  con- 
secrated and  sent  into  the  world,  for  calling  himself  his 
Son?  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father,  believe  me 
not.  But  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  not  me,  believe  the 
works,  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father  is 
in  me,  and  I  in  him. 

Then  they  attempted  again  to  seize  him;  but  he  es- 
caped out  of  their  hands,  and  retiring  again  towards  the 
Jordan,  he  abode  in  the  place  where  John  first  baptized.. 
And  many  resorted  to  him,  who  said:  John  indeed 
wrought  no  miracle;  but  all  that  John  spake  of  this  man 
is  true.     And  many  believed  on  him  there. 


person,  which  opinion  contradicts  the  plainest  testimony  of  scrip- 
ture, Jolin  8.  17 — 19.  See  the  note  on  this  passage  Section  Sixty- 
fourth,  p.  247 — 8.  Pnul  uses  the  same  phr^iseology  when  he  says: 
He  that  plants  and  he  th^t  waters  are  one,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
tells  us  thatPau)  planted  and  Apollo?  watered,  1  Cor.  3.  6,  8.  Will 
any  one  say  that  Paul  and  Apollos  were  one  man  or  one  person? 
Jesus  prays  that  he,  his  Father  and  his  disciples  might  be  one;  and 
that  he  and  the  disciples  might  be  one  in  like  manner  as  he  and  the 
Father  are  one,  John  17-  22.  Will  any  imagine  that  .lesus  prayed 
for  the  apostles  to  be  incorporated  as  persons  of  the  Trinity? 
Should  not  every  mnn  who  has  not  renounced  claims  to  sincerity, 
ceas^e  to  ^a'k  of  Jesus  and  the  Father  as  one  person  or  one  God. 

*  Thou;^  I  many  have  imagined  that  Jesus  claimed  personal  unity 
with  the  Father  it  appears  very  clearly  by  the  reply  of  Jesus,  that 
the  Je.v*  (lid  not  accuse  him  of  pretending  to  be  God  equal  to  the 
Father.  He  justifies  himself  upon  the  principle  of  other  persons 
bemg  callfci  gofis,  from  (heir  having  an  office  resembling  that  of 
God  and  to  this  he,  who  acted  by  a  more  immediate  commission 
from  God,  had  a  better  title.  The  evidence  of  this  was  his  works, 
vfhich  he  ascribed  to  the  father. 


SECTION  NINETIETH. 

Inquiry  concerning  Divorces. 

Then  some  of  the  Pharisees  rame  to  him,  and  tried 
him  with  this  qur  •^tion:*  Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  di- 
vorce his  wife  for  «'very  offence?  He  replied:  What 
has  Moses  commanded?  And  they  said:  Moses  per- 
mitted to  give  a  wri  na;  of  separation,  and  to  divorce 
her.  Jesus  answered:  Have  y(  not  read  that  when  God 
created  them  at  the  beginning,  /;e  formed  them  a  male 
and  a  female -,1  and  said:    For  this  cause,  a  man  shall 


*There  was  a  difference  between  the  school  of  Shammai  and  that 
of  Hillell  about  this  matter;  the  former  insisted  that  a  man  might 
not  put  away  his  wife  but  in  case  of  uncleanness;  but  the  latter 
allowed  putting  away  for  very  trifling  things;  as  if  she  spoiled 
her  husband's  food  by  over- roasting,  or  over-salting  it;  and,  as 
one  of  the  doctbrs  say,  if  he  found  another  woman  that  wus  more 
beautiful  than  her.  This  question  being  now  agitated  in  the 
schools,  they  artfully  put  to  Christ;  not  for  information,  but  with 
a  view  to  reproach  him  in  some  way  or  other;  and  that  he  might 
incur  the  resentment  of  one  partv  or  an  ^'ler,  as  he  should  answer. 
They  might  argue  thus  with  t!iems(»Ives,  and  hope  to  succeed  in 
this  manner;  should  he  be  on  the  side  of  the  school  of  Shammai, 
which  was  the  weakest  side,  and  less  popular,  as  they  had  reason 
to  believe  he  would,  he  should  then  expose  himself  U)  the  resent- 
ment of  the  school  of  Hillell.  and  all  on  tnat  side  the  question; 
should  he  take  the  part  of  Hillell,  he  would  make  the  school  of 
Shammai  his -lemies;  should  he  forbid  putting  away  of  wives, 
which  Moses  allowed,  they  would  then  traduce  him  as  contrary 
to  Moses,  'nd  his  law,  which  ct  iild  not  fail  of  setting  the  people 
against  him;  and  -hoi. 'd  he  consent  to  it,  they  would  charge  him 
with  contradicting  him;-^.if,  w  ^vith  inconstancy  in  his  doctrine, 
since  he  had  before  asserted  v=i  ■  ^aw'ilness  of  it,  !)'Jtin  case  of 
adultery,  and  should  he  abide  uy  tins,  t  fy  might  hope  i)  irritate 
the  men  against  nim,  who  would  think  (lie.  iibcrt}'  grain  ■<  by 
Moses  was  intrenched;  as,  on  the  other  hand,  should  he,  accord- 
ing to  the  question,  admit  of  putting  away  for  eveiy  caust  ,  the 
women  would  be  provoked  at  him,  who  w-Mild  be  left  to  Uie  un- 
certain humour  and  caprice  of  their  husbands;  so  that  either  way 
they  hoped  to  get  an  advantage  of  him. 

tThe  weight  of  the  argument  must  lie  in  this  circumstance, 
4;hat  God  created  at  first  no  more  than  a  single  pair,  one  of  each 


356  INQUIRY    CONCERNING    DIVORCES. 

leave  father  and  mother,  and  adhere  to  his  wife,  and  the 
two  shall  be  one  flesh ;  therefore  they  are  no  longer  two, 
"What  God  has  johied,  let  not  man  separate.  They  re- 
plied: Why  then  did  Moses  command  to  give  a  writing 
of  separation  and  dismiss.''  Jesus  answered:  Because 
of  your  stubborn  disposition,  Moses  wrote  you  this  pre- 
cept, and  permitted  you  to  divorce  your  wives,  but  it 
was  not  so  from  the  beginning. 

And  in  the  house  his  disciples  having  asked  him  con- 
cerning this  matter,  he  said  to  them:  Whoever  shall  di- 
vorce his  wife  and  marry  another,  commits  adultery; 
and  if  a  woman*  divorce  her  husband  and  marry  an- 
other, she  commits  adultery.  The  disciples  replied:  If 
such  be  the  condition  of  the  husband  and  wife,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  live  unmarried.  Jesus  answered:  None  are  able 
to  receive  this  inference,!  except  those  on  whom  the 
power  is  conferred.  For  there  are  some,  who  have 
been  eunuchs  from  their  birth;  others  have  been  made 
eunuchs  by  men;|  and  others  have  made  themselves 


sex,  whom  he  united  in  <he  bond  of  nianiage,  and,  in  so  doing, 
exhibitt  d  a  standard  of  that  union  to  all  generations.  The  very 
WOK  !-,  ond  these  two,  shew  that  it  is  itnplied  in  the  historian's 
declaration,  that  they  were  two,  one  male  and  one  female,  and  no 
more.     But  this  is  by  no  means  implied  in  the  common  version. 

*  This  practice  of  divorcing  the  husband,  unwarranted  by  the 
law,  had  been,  as  Josephus  informs  us,  introduced  by  Salome, 
sister  of  Herod  the  Great,  who  sent  a  bill  of  divorce  to  her  hus- 
band Costobarus;  which  bad  example  was  afterwards  followed  by 
Herodias  and  others.  By  law,  it  was  the  husband's  prerogative 
to  dissolve  the  marriage.  The  wife  could  do  nothing  by  herself. 
When  he  thought  tit  to  dissolve  it,  her  consent  was  not  necessary. 
The  bill  of  divorce,  which  she  received,  was  to  serve  as  evidence 
for  her,  that  she  had  not  deserted  her  husband,  but  was  dismissed 
bj  him,  and  consecjuently  free. 

t  The  meaning  of  this  passage  is  somewhat  obscure  in  the  com- 
mon translation.  Absence  from  marriage  is  the  subject  of  dis- 
course; and  our  Lord  intiniates  that  all  men  cannot  endure  a  sin- 
gle life,  but  only  those  who  have  the  gift  of  continency  and  can 
preserve  their  bodies  in  chastity. 

lOrigen,  who  was  a  great  allegorical  interpreter  of  Scripture; 
departed  from  his  usual  practice,  on  this  passage;    for,  taking  it 


DISCOURSE    CONCERNING   DIVORCES.  3S7 

eunuchs  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.     Let 
him  that  is  able,  receive  this  inference. 


literally,  he  castrated  himself.  The  practice  was  recommended 
by  Philo  the  Jew,  anil  some  of  the  heathen  Philosophers,  for  the 
sake  of  maintaining  chastity.  Gill  observes  that  the  three  kinds 
of  eunuchs  here  mentioned,  are:  I,  Those  who  have  been  made  so 
by  the  hands  of  Heaven,  through  defect  of  temper  or  bodily  or- 
ganization; 2,  Such  as  have  been  made  so  by  men,  which  opera- 
tion was  usual  among  the  Romans,  and  is  still  practiced  by  the 
Turks,  and  many  of  the  Easterns,  on  their  ma''-  dohiestics,  for 
the  greater  security  of  their  wives;  3,  Those  who  by  persevering 
efforts  have  attained  contiuency  and  self-government,  and  thereby 
have  less  incumbrance  in  the  service  of  r»iio;ioa. 


SECTION  NLNETY  FIRST. 

Children  received  and  blessed. 

Then  children  were  brought  to  him,  that  he  might  lay 
his  hands  on  them  and  pray:  but  his  disciples  rebuked 
those  who  brought  them.  Jesus  observing  them,  was 
displeased;  and  calling  the  children  to  him,  he  said: 
Suffer  the  children*  to  come  to  me,  and  do  not  hinder 
them;  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  Venly  I 
assure  you,  whoever  will  not,  like  a  child,  receive  the 
kingdom  of  God,  he  shall  never  enter  into  it.  Then  lay- 
ing his  hands  on  them,  he  blessed  them;  and  departed 
thence. 


^  The  subject  of  this  section  has  afforded  grounds  of  disputatioa 
among  the  different  sectarians,  who  drag  into  the  controversy  every 
thing  that  has  even  the  shadow  of  favour  to  their  hypothesis. 
One  cries  here  is  proof  in  favour  of  infant  baptism.  Another, 
here  is  evidence  that  all  who  die  in  childhood  are  saved.  A  third 
assumes  from  this  passage,  clear  demonstration  that  children  are 
not  involved  in  the  sin  of  Adam.  And  a  fourth  imagines  that  the 
doctrine  of  human  depravity  is  here  completely  refuted:  Now 
this  passage  of  scripture  affords  no  more  countenance  to  one  or  any 
•f  the   above   claimants,  than  it  does  to  Symmes'-  theory  of  the 


SECTION  NINETY  SECOND. 

Riches  injurious  to  Relioion. 

And  as  he  proceeded  on  his  journey,  one  approaching 
and  kneeling  before  him,  said:  Good  teacher,  what  good 
must  I  do  to  obtain  eternal  life?  But  Jesus  said  to  him: 
Why  callest  thou  me  good?  None  is  good  but  one 
God*  If  thou  de.sire  to  enter  that  life,  keep  the  com- 
mandments.    He  said:  Which?  Jesus  answered:  Thou 


earth!  We  reasonably  conclude  that  children  of  parents  who  are 
believing  niembers  of  Christ's  Church,  arp  entitled  te  be  considered 
members,  as  the  children  of  freemen  of  a  city  are  freemen,  and 
this  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  who  as- 
sure us  that  the  covenant  promise  extends  to  the  children  of  be- 
lieving parent**;  and  that  such  are  holy,  Acts  2.  39;  1  Cor.  7.  14. 
But  as  to  children  of  heathen  or  unbelieving  parents.  Dr.  Watts 
has  the  best  and  most  I'ational  corjecture,  namely,  that  they  shall 
be  annihilated  Those  parents,  therefore,  who  do  not  bring  their 
children  to  the  Lord  by  the  instructions  and  ordinances  of  religion, 
are  in  a  degree  guilty  of  their  blood. 

*  Not  only  do  reason  and  philosophy  prove  to  us  that  the  irra- 
tional doctrine  of  tlie  Trinity  is  both  erroneous  and  impossible,  but 
the  very  reverse  of  that  incomprehensible  dogma  is  often  taught  io 
the  most  cleir  Mn*'  express  Inns'iage,  by  no  less  autiority  than  hitn 
whoa)  mistaken  f  hiiStMn.-j  wc  uiu  rank  as  tha  second  person  of  that 
Trinily.  Jesus  demands:  Why  call  est  thou  me  good?  None  is  good 
but  the  One  God.  Was  il  possible  ior  l.mguage  to  exj-t'ess  in  plain- 
er terms,  that  Jesus  is  not  that  God  whose  divine  attrilmie  of  good- 
ness he  so  plainly  and  humlily  disclaims.  It  is  acknowledged  that 
some  of  the  ancient  Fathers  read:  There  is  none  good  hut  God  my 
Father.  So  Justin  Martyr,  Ireneus,  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  and 
Origen.  See  Whitby  on  Matt.  19.  17.  It  helps  not  the  matter  to 
say  with  Bishop  Bull  and  others,  that  the  goodness  of  Christ  maj 
be  considered  his  Father's,  because  he  derived  both  his  nature  and 
attributes  from  the  lather.  And  do  Trinitarians  believe  in  a  de- 
rived God,  being  equal  to  an  underived  eternal  God?  O  judgment 
thou  art  fled,  and  men  have  lost  their  reason!  If  one  being  be  de- 
rived from  another  being,  whom  he  acknowledges  God,  is  not  this 
the  clearest  evidence  that  can  be  had,  that  the  first  and  dependent 
being  cannot  be  the  same,  and  therefore  as  Christ  declares  his  Fa- 
ther to  be  supreme,  and  the  fountain  of  all  that  he  possessed,  Jesus 
cannot  be  God. 


KICHES    INJURIOUS   TO   RELIGION.  339 

knowest  them:*  Thou  shalt  not  commit  murder;  thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery ;  thou  shalt  not  steal ;  thou  shalt 
not  bear  false  testimony;  thou  shalt  not  defraud;  lion  )ur 
thy  father  and  mother;  and  love  thy  nei;>:hb  )ar  as  thy- 
self. The  young  man  said:  All  these  I  have  ohserv^i 
from  ray  childhood.  Wherein  am  I  still  deficient.''  Je- 
sus looking  earnestly  on  him,  loved  him,  aud  said  io 
him:  There  is  still  one  thing  v^^anted.  If  thou  wouldst 
be  perfect,  go  sell  all  thine  estate,  and  distribute  it  to 
the  poor,  and  then  come  and  follow  me,  and  thou  shalt 
have  treasure  in  Heaven.  But  the  young  man  was 
deeply  affected  at  this  saying,  and  went  away  sorrowful; 
for  he  ha  J  great  possessions. 

Jesus  seeing  him  sorrowful,  looked  round  on  his  dis- 
ciples, and  said:  Ho  v  diliicult  it  is  foi-  a  rich  man  to  ea- 
ter into  the  kingdom*  of  Heaven.     Now  whilst  the  dis- 


*  Here  is  another  instance  of  Jesus  referrins;  to'  obedience  to  the 
law  of  Moses,  as  the  means  of  obtaiiiini;  eternal  life.  Do  they  not, 
therefore,  greatly  err,  who  say  the  law  had  not  the  promise  of  lite, 
and  that  none  could  enter  into  life  by  obedience.  Christ  did  not, 
could  not,  deceive.  He  himsplf  estai)lished  the  law,  and  every  Jevr 
living  in  the  spirit  of  that  institution,  and  dying  in  the  faith  of  its 
sacrifices,  entered  into  the  Paradise  of  God. 

t  By  the  kingdom  of  h'.aven  is  sometimes  understood  in  this  history 
the  Christian  Church,  tlien  soon  to  be  erected,  and  sometimes  tlie 
state  of  the  blest  in  heaven,  after  the  resurrection.  In  regard  to 
this  declaration  of  our  Lord,  I  take  it  to  hold  true,  in  which  way 
soever  the  kingdom  be  understood.  When  it  was  only  by  means  of 
persuasion  that  men  were  brought  into  a  society,  hated  and  persecu- 
ted by  all  the  ruling  powers  of  the  earth,  Jewish  and  Pagan;  we 
may  rest  assured  that  the  opulent  and  the  voluptuous,  characters 
which,  in  a  dissolute  age,  commonly  go  together,  who  had  so  much 
to  lose,  and  so  much  to  fear,  would  not,  among  the  hearers  of  the 
gospel,  be  the  most  easily  persuaded.  The  Apostle  James,  ii.  5,  6. 
accordingly  attests  this  to  have  been  the  fact;  it  was  the  poor  in  this 
world  whom  God  had  chosen  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom; 
whereas,  they  were  the  rich  in  this -world  zvho  oppressed  them,  dragged 
them  before  their  tribunals,  and  blasphemed  that  worthy  name  by 
which  they  were  called.  As  little  can  tlieie  be  any  doubt  of  the  just- 
ness of  the  sentiment,  in  rolation  to  the  state  of  the  blessed  hereaf- 
ter, when  the  deceitfuloess  of  riches,  and  the  snare  into  which  it  so 
often  inveigles  men,  are  duly  considered.     So  close  an  analogy  runs 


S40  RICHES    INJURIOUS    TO    RELIGION. 

ciples  were  wondering  at  these  words,  Jesus  repeated: 
Children,  how  difficult  it  is  for  those  that  trust  in  riches, 
to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  Verily  I  assure  you:  It 
is  easier  for  a  cam  l  *  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle, 
than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.     On 


throua;h  all  the  divine  dispensations,  that,  in  more  instances  thaa 
this,  it  nnv  be  affir  Tied  with  truth,  that  the  dechirations  of  scrip- 
ture are  susceptiole  of  either  interpretation. 

*  All  the  efforts  of  critics  have  not  succeeded  to  make  the  passage 
to  the  kinii;doin  of  Heaven  in  the  circunstances  mentioned  in  the 
text  any  wider  than  the  eye  of  a  needle,  nor  the  entrance  for  a  rich 
man,  trusting  in  riches,  any  more  possible,  than  that  of  an  elephant 
or  can"! I  into  the  eye  of  stid  needle.  The  fact  is,  the  phrase  was 
proverbid,  to  express  so  nething  utterly  impossible.  The  Koran 
says:  "  The  impious,  who  accuse  our  doctrine  of  falsehood,  S'lall 
not  enter  4f!  iven,  till  a  camel  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle.^^  And 
one  of  the  Jewish  Rabbins  says  to  another:  "Perhaps  thou  canst 
make  an  elephant  pass  throuj;h  the  eye  of  a  needle;'''*  meaning  that 
what  he  had  advanced  was  absuid  and  impossible.  See  Light- 
foot,  Schoetgen,  and  Clrirk*?.  Theophylac,  Euthymius,  and  Pha- 
voriaiis  say,  the  word  x.«(a1l^o?  signifies  a  cable;  and  many  urge  that 
it  is  nore  appropri  ite  to  speak  of  a  cable  or  rope  passint;  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  an  animal.  Hence  Bociiart  argues  that  a 
camel  is  rot  nit  ant;  because  Buxtorf  in  !iis  Lexicon,  shows  that  the 
Jews  use  this  proverb  of  a  cable  rope,  and  the  Syriac  and  Arabic 
versions  have  not  a  camels  but  a  cable  and  the  other  Hebrew  pro- 
verbs s|)eak  ofan  e/e/>A  t?i<,  not  a  camel.  Kosenmuller,  however, 
observes,  that  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic  proverbs  are  more  usual  con- 
cerning an  aniiTial,  and  that  uuiXQuv,  which  is  the  true  reading 
adopted  by  VVelstein  and  Griesbach,  applies  properly  to  the  walk 
of  an  animal,  and  not  ti»  the  pulling  of  a  cable.  The  frequency  ot 
the  term  among  all  sorts  of  writers,  tor  denoting  the  beast  so  de- 
nominated, is  undeniable.  Besides,  the  camel,  being  the  largest  an- 
imal thoy  were  acqu  linted  with  in  Judea,  its  name  was  become 
proverbial  for  denoting  any  thing  remarkably  large,  and  a  camel 
■passing  through  a  needless  eye,  came,  by  consequence,  as  appears 
from  some  rabbinical  writings,  to  exprcs.'i  a  thing  absolutely  impossi- 
ble. But  why  contend  about  the  word?  Does  not  the  one  con- 
vey the  idea  of  impossibility  as  well  as  the  other?  And  is  it  not  mani- 
fest from  the  astonishment  of  the  apostles,  and  the  question:  Wh9 
then  can  be  saved?  That  the  disciples  understood  the  words  of 
Christ  to  imply  an  impossibility? 

To  every  reflecting  mind  it  will  readily  appear  that  earthly  riches 
are  a  great  obstacle  to  salvation,  because  it  is  almost  impossible  tsv 


RICHES    INJURIOUS   TO     RELIGION.  341 

hearing  this,  his  disciples  were  exceedingly  amazed,  and 
said,  one  to  another:  Who  then  can  be  saved?  Jesus 
looking  on  them,  said:  With  men  this  is  impossible,  but 
not  with  God;  for  with  God  all  things  are  possible. 


possess  them  without  phicing  the  affectious  and  confidence  on  them; 
and  feeling  that  pride  and  independence  which  ahen  ites  the  heart 
from  God.  John  int'orms  us  that  they  who  love  the  world,  have  not 
the  love  of  the  Father  in  them.  No  man  can  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon. Jesus  would  teach  us  that  all  who  would  enter  heaven,  must 
value  it  so  highly,  as  to  be  content  with  it  for  their  all.  Scaroaiy  any 
thing  is  alleged  against  the  rich  mm  contrasted  with  Ltzirus,  but 
that  he  was  rich,  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day.  This  was  enough 
to  draw  away  his  attention  from  religion;  therefore  he  lifts  his  eyes 
in  Hell  as  soon  as  buried,  and  finds  himself  eterndly  excluted  irom 
Heaven  and  the  blessed.  Hence  Jesus  tells  the  disciples,  that  hu- 
manly speaking,  the  salvation  of  a  rich  man  is  impossible.  Nothing 
less  than  the  omnipotence  of  the  eternal  God  can  break  the  power 
of  earthly  desires,  and  this  can  only  be  expected  when  the  soul  feels 
its  poverty,  and  cries  to  the  Lord  for  help,  in  the  fervency  of  prayer 
and  proper  use  of  the  means  of  salvation,  made  known  to  mankind 
in  the  gospel. 


SECTION  NINETY-THIRD. 

Reward  of  Preferring  Christ  to  the  World. 

Then  Peter  replying,  said:  Rehold!  we  have  forsaken 
all,  and  followed  thee;  what  then  shall  be  our  reward.'** 
Jesus  answered:  Which  of  you,  having  a  servant  plough- 


*  The  answer  of  Christ  to  Peter's  question,  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting portions  of  scripture  in  the  sacred  volu^ne.  By  the  simile 
or  parai)le  here  introduced,  Peter  might  have  been  discoaiMged,  had 
not  Christ  immediately  told  him  of  an  eternal  reward,  which  though 
not  strictly  merited,  would  notwithstanding  be  conferred  on  all  that 
like  Peter,  forsake  all  to  follow  Jesus.  God  is  absoUUely  indepen- 
dent, and  therefore  can  neither  profit  by  the  obedience  ot  his  crea- 
tures, nor  lose  aught  by  their  rebellion.  Jesas  shows  by  the  simile 
of  a  slave  and  his  master,  that  mankind,  being  entirely  the  proper- 

44 


342    BEWARD  OF  PREFERRING  CHRIST  TO  THE  WORIj». 

ing  or  feeding  cattle,  would  say  to  him  on  his  returit 
from  the  field:  Come  immediately  and  place  thyself  at. 
table?  Wo'jld  he  not  rather  say:  Make  ready  my  supper 
and  gird  thyself  to  serve  me,  till  I  eat  and  drink;  and" 
afterwards  thou  shall  eat  and  drink?  Does  he  owe  a' 
favour  to  that  servant,  for  obeying  his  orders?  I  suppose 
not.  In  like  manner,  say  ye  also,  when  ye  have  done  all 
that  is  commanded  you:  We  thy  servants  have  conferred 
no  favour,  because  we  have  only  done  our  duty.  Nev- 
ertheless, I  assure  you,  that  as  ray  Father  has  covenant- 
ed with  me  to  give  me  a  kingdom,  so  I  covenant  with 
you,  that,  at  the  renovation,  ye  who  have  followed  m& 

ty  of  God,  soul,  body  and  estate,  can  do  only  their  duty,  by  yielding 
their  all  to  his  call,  and  consecrating  their  time,  means,  and  oppor- 
tunities to  his  service  forever:  Yet  the  God  of  unbounded  benevo- 
lence only  seeks  fit  opportunities  for  bestowing  his  bounties  on  his 
intelligent  creatures,  and  that  Jesus  who  bought  us  with  a  price,  1 
Cor.  7.  23,  is  still  willing  to  give  us  ten  thousand  fold  more,  than 
we  could  attain  by  acting  for  ourselves. 

By  the  term,  riaXtyyEVEiTja,  Interpreters  have  understood,  1  The 
regeneration  of  mankind  by  the  gospel,  2  The  state  of  the  Millen- 
nium, 3   The  Resurrection. 

1  The  regeneration  of  men  by  the  gospel.  Great  and  remarka- 
ble changes  from  a  low  or  miserable  state  of  things  to  a  better,  is  so 
called  by  many  writers  of  note.  Dr.  Lightfoot  observing  that  the 
judging  of  the  twelve  tribes  by  the  apostles,  was  to  commence  when 
the  Son  of  man  ascended  the  throne  of  his  glory,  which  he  did  at 
his  ascension,  thinks  the  passage  is  to  be  understood  of  the  time  and 
events  which  immediately  followed.  Tiie  effusion  of  the  holy  spirit, 
the  powerful  influence  of  the  apostles  in  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  overthrow  and  dispersion  of  the  Jews,  with  many  other 
remarkable  events,  connected  with  that  period,  indicate  that  Jesus 
had  ascended  his  throne,  and  commenced  the  administration  of 
nhich  the  apostles  were  constituted  chief  officers.  Josephus  Antiq. 
L  11.  c.  8.  §.  £,  uses  llie  «ord,  TraXtyysvEo-ta,  to  denote  the  remarka- 
ble change,  in  the  Jewish  affairs,  on  their  return  from  the  Babylo- 
nian captivity.  If  the  word  should  be  understood  of  the  conversion 
of  men,  the  common  English  translation  cannot  be  correct,  for  Jesus 
being  holy  and  separ^.te  from  sinners,  needed  no  regeneration,  and 
therefore  tlie  apostles  could  not  be  said  to  follow  him,  in  what 
could  never  happen.  But  if  the  word  be  understood  of  an  exalta- 
tion to  a  throne  or  kingdom,  or  of  the  Resurrection,  in  both  in- 
stances, the  disciples  might  follow  Jesus. 


REWARD  OF  PREFERRING  CHRIST  TO  THE  WORLD.    34ti 

tind  continued  with  me  tlirough  all  my  trials,  shall  sit 
down  at  table,  and  eat  and  drink  in  my  kingdom;  and 
when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be  seated  on  his  glorious 
throne,  ye  shall  also  sit  on  twelve  thrones,  judging  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  VeriJy  I  assure  you:  Lvery 
one  who  has  forsaken  house  and  lands,  or  parents,  or 
brothers,  or  sisters,  or  wile,  or  children,  on  my  account, 
or  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel  and  kingdom  of  God,  shall 
receive  a  hundred  fold  in  the  present  time,  and  shall  in- 
herit eternal  life,  in  the  world  to  come. 


2  The  word  has  been  used  to  denote  the  Millennium,  or  new 
Heavens  and  new  earth,  which  shall  succeed  the  present  state  of 
things,  when  Jesus  shall  reign  on  earth  tor  365,000  years,  being 
(be  time  included  in  a  thousaml  prophetical  years,  in  which  each  day 
stands  for  a  year.  In  this  sense  the  word  ■jcoiMyyirzj-M  is  used  by 
Justin  Martyr  and  Ireueus,  who  by  it  represent  ttie  happy  reign  of 
the  saints  on  earth,  with  Christ,  tor  so  lung  a  period^  when  there 
shall  be  nothing  to  hurt  or  annuy  mall  God's  holy  uiount,iin.  Anal- 
agous  was  their  construction  ot"  liie  term,  to  the  use  made  of  it  by 
Clement,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  where  hf  calls  the  resto- 
ration of  the  world  after  the  deluge  by  the  name  uraXtyyEvso-ta,  or 
Renovation.  And  this  new  crealion  iyl'  eurth  and  Heaven  would  be 
literally  a  regeneration  in  ihe  sense  that  generation  was  used  to 
signify  their  tirst  creation,  Gen.  2.  4. 

3  The  word  has  been  used  to  denote  the  Resurrection.  Whitby 
observes  that  most  of  the  Greek  interpreters  say,  TrxXiyyma-ice.  tav 
enoca^ocviv  nost  Regeneration  here  tsi^^ni llts  tke  Resurrection.  Cicero, 
ad  Attic.  L.  4.  6,  calls  his  own  condition,  after  lie  had  been  recalled 
from  exile  to  his  former  dignity  an^l  office,  a  regener  ition;  using  the 
same  terra.  In  this  sense  it  applied  very  appropriately  to  Christ's 
resurraction,  when  according  to  his  own  prayer  and  doctrine,  he  was 
to  regain  his  former  glory.  VVhenthe  soul  entered  mto  a  new  body 
according  lo  tiie  Pylliagore an  doctrine,  that  sect  called  this  new  state 
of  tiling^!,  a  xxKiyyiiiTix^  or  regeneration. 

Tiie  true  1  np  )rt  of  the  passage  vviiioa  reconciles  all,  is,  l)y  regen- 
eration let  us  umlersLand  the  kingdom  of  deavea,  winch  commenced 
when  Jesus  entered  hUo  his  sj;!i)ry,  anc'  will  last  to  ,iil  eternity.  And 
as  Kypke,  Rosenmuller  and  otiisiv^,  h:iv>  ncied  that  the  word  ■<.^im  it 
to  be  understood  in  the  sense  oi g<)vernin\^  or  pre<iding,  Gen.  48. 
16,  so  the  apostles  siiall  preside  in  the  kingdom  of  je->as  forever,  as 
the  heads  or  chiefs  of  ttie  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  presided  next  to 
the  king,  in  the  ancient  state  of  Israel. 


SECTION  NINETY-FOURTH. 

Ambition  op  Zebedee's  Sons. 

Then  came  to  him  the  mother  of  John  and  James, 
the  sons  of  Zebedee,  with  her  children,  and  prostrating 
herself,  said:  Teacher,  we  desire  some  thing  of  thee, 
grant  us  our  request.  And  he  said  to  them:  What 
would  ye,  that  I  should  do  for  you. ^  She  said:*  Grant 
that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  the  one  on  thy  right 
hand,  and  the  other  on  thy  left,f  in  thy  kingdom  of  glo- 
ry. Jesus  answered:  Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask.  Can 
ye  drink  of  the  same  cupj  with  me,  and  endure  the  bap- 
tism which  I  shall  undergo.''  They  said:  We  can.   Jesus 


*  The  seeming  discrepancy  between  the  Evangelists  Matthew 
and  Mark  is  easily  removed.  Matthew  says  the  request  was  made 
by  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children,  Mark,  that  it  was  preferred 
by  John  and  James,  her  sons;  the  two  are  reconciled  by  supposing 
that  the  mother,  attended  by  her  sons,  introduced  the  request,  in 
which  they  concurred;  and  Jesus  knowing  the  ambitious  desires  of 
John  and  James,  addressed  his  answer  to  them. 

t  In  the  grand  Sanhedrin,  the  Ab  or  Father  of  the  Council,  sat 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  President;  and  the  second  vice-president 
sat  on  the  left.  The  seat  on  the  right  hand  of  a  king  was  reserved 
for  the  person  who  held  the  second  rank  in  the  kingdom,  1  Kings 
2.  19,  and  the  seat  on  the  left  was  for  him,  who  was  third  in  office. 
Hence  we  see  the  extent  of  these  men's  desire.  These  sons  of 
Zebedee  did  not  conclude  from  what  Jesus  had  said  of  Peter,  hav- 
ing the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  that  any  particular  preroga- 
tive was  intended  by  it;  for  then  they  would  have  considered  the 
dignity  for  which  they  petitioned  as  already  promised  to  another. 

i  Baptism,  as  performed  among  the  Jews  by  immersion,  was  used 
as  an  emblem  or  representation  of  death;  and  the  cup  of  any  person 
was  a  usual  phrase,  in  both  sacred  and  profane  writers,  to  denote 
the  prosperous  or  adverse  circumstances  of  that  person.  Thus 
Tibullus  says:  Tristin  cum  multo  pocula  felle  bibit.  David  calls 
God  the  portion  of  his  cup,  Ps.  16.  5,  but  both  he  and  the  prophets 
speak  of  God's  cup  of  wrath  for  the  wicked,  Is.  51.  17,  22;  Jer. 
25.  18;  Ezek.  23.  33,  Ps.  11.6.  The  cup  and  baptism  of  Jesus  in 
this  place  signify  his  great  sufferings,  and  cruel  death.  The  word 
^aTTTt^o)  often  signifies  to  overwhelm  with  calamity.  Thus  Josephus, 
speiiking  of  a  gang  of  robbers  who  forced  their  way  into  Jerusalem, 
says  E/3ct7rr<cr«v  t»)v  'woKdi,  they  baptized  the  city. 


AMBITION    OF    ZEBEDEE's   SONS.  345 

answered:  Ye  shall  indeed  drink  of  the  same  cup,  and 
be  baptized  with  the  same  baptism,  but  to  sit  at  my 
right  hand  or  left,  is  not  in  my  power*  to  grant,  except 
to  those  for  whom  this  honour  is  destined  by  my  Father. 
And  the  ten,  having  heard,  began  to  expross  indigna- 
tion against  the  two  brothers,  John  and  James.  But 
Jesus  calling  them,  said:  Ye  know  that  the  rulers  of 
nations  exercise  arbitrary  power  over  them,  and  the 
princes  of  these  rulers,  called  benefactors,  tyrannize 
over  them,  but  let  it  not  be  sof  among   you.     Whoso- 


*  Here  we  learn  that  the  authority  of  Christ,  i^  not  absolute;  but 
that  he  himself  is  subject  to  the  appointment,  rule,  and  authority  of 
the  Father.  The  disposal  of  the  chief  seats  was  not  at  his  will,  but 
in  accordance  with  the  Father's  direction:  he  who  derived  his  life, 
his  authority,  and  commission  from  God,  could  not  t»e  God.  The 
chief  seats  in  Heaven,  are  here  by  Je-us  assigned  according  to  the 
decree  of  God  to  no  man,  but  to  him  who  like  Christ  shall  distin- 
guish himself  by  extraordinary  services  None  are  born  heirs  of 
heaven;  the  inheritance  must  be  obtained  by  conquest. 

t  In  this  address  to  his  disciples,  Jesus  alludes  to  the  diversity  of 
rank  that  obtained  in  tbe  political  government  of  nations,  according 
to  which,  one  class  of  rulers  govern  the  people,  whdst  the  same 
rulers  are  governed  by  others  of  a  higher  order  in  otfice;  but  he 
prohibits  such  diversity  among  his  disciples.  Huve  those  who  are 
called  Spiritual  Lords,  Metropolitans,  ^Archbishops,  Cardinals^ 
Popes,  read  this  passage  of  scripture?  If  they  have;  what  l>ut  that 
spiritual  blindness,  inflicted  by  the  god  of  this  world,  could  prevent 
them  from  perceiving,  that  such  titles  and  ranks  are  as  repugnant 
to  the  religion  of  Jesus,  as  the  delusion  and  tyranny  of  Mystery 
Babylon  are  to  the  divine  light,  and  benign  reign  of  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven?  Such  anti-Christian  hierarchy  is  as  great  i  profana- 
tion of  the  divine  government,  which  Jesus  has  established  in  his 
Church,  as  the  offering  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  when  he  sacrificed 
a  sotiy  on  {h.Q  consecrated  altar  at  Jerusalem;  or  the  profanity  of 
Belshazzar,  when  he  introduced  the  holy  vessels  of  the  Jewish  tetu- 
ple,  at  the  intemperate  banquet  in  Babylon. 

The  very  Greek  word  tut^ytrM,  used  by  the  Evangelist  and  trans- 
lated benefactor,  was  the  surname  of  some  of  the  Ptole.riies  of 
Egypt.  Ptolemy  Euergetes.  It  was  a  custom  among  the  ancient 
Romans  to  distribute  part  ot  the  lands,  which  tliey  hid  taken  by 
conquest,  among  their  soldiers.  These  lands  were  called  b:nejicia, 
benejices;  those  who  held  them  were  called  beneficiarii,  beneficed. 
persons',  and  no  wonder  that  those  sovereigns,   however  tyrannical 


346  AMBITION  OF  ZEBEDEE's  SONS. 

ever  would  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minis- 
ter, and  whosoever  would  be  a  chief  among  you,  let  him 
be  servant  of  all;  for  thus  the  son  of  man  came  not  to 
receive  attendance,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a 
ransom*  instead  of  many. 


in  other  respects,  were  termed  benefactors,  by  those  beneficed  per- 
sons, who  depended  on  the  bounty  of  their  sovereigns,  for  their 
benefices.  Agreeably  to  this  ancient  use  of  Pagan  Rome,  we  too 
have  in  ihe  professed  hwi  degenerate  church  of  Christ,  benefices  held 
at  the  will  ot  the  Patron  or  Sovereign,  and  beneficed  persons  or  tn- 
curnbents,  who  praise  their  benefactors,  speak  of  the  divine  right  ta 
act  thus,  and  shut  out  the  light  of  Heaven  by  bartering  the  truth  for 
a  mess  of  pot.ige,  to  the  shame  and  abuse  of  the  Christian  religion. 

*  The  great  end  of  Christ's  mission  is  here  plainly  declared  by 
himself  to  be  the  redemption  of  mankind  by  the  substitution  of  him- 
self as  a  ransom  (or  their  deliverance  from  sin  and  its  reward,  mise- 
ry and  destruction.  Wakrfield  thiidis  the  phrase  should  be  render- 
ed, one  ransom  instead  oj  the  many,  which  wore  prescribed  by  the 
Jewish  law.  'I'his  interpretation  is  favoured  by  thi  language  of  the 
apostle,  Htb  10.  14;  but  what  Mr.  Wakefield  labours  to  avoid  is 
not  the  less  certainly  the  fact:  That  Jesus  died  die  just  instead  of 
the  unjvst,  1  Peter  3.  i8.  Without  admitting  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
vicarious  sacrifice,  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  rational  and  satisfac- 
tory account  of  the  origin,  inslilution,  or  prevalent  use  of  expiatory 
sacrifices.  On  this  doctrine  is  suspended  the  whole  meaning  and 
spirit  of  the  Ji  vvish  ritual:  on  it  depends  the  relationship  of  Chris- 
tianity and  Judaism,  the  connection  between  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament dispensations. 

The  word  Xvt^ov,  properly  signifies  the  pi  ice  paid  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  a  captive:    1  hus  Fiularcli  in  IVoblemat.  Hellen.  p.  29  ■,  T«j 

e  Xapun  oit'x^fjMXuiTov  uirnyiv  oix.a,h.  1  iie  apostle  says  Cliiist  gave.^hioi- 
self,  ecvTiXvT^ov,  the  substitute  for  the  ransom  price,  instead  ot  all  men, 
I  Tim.  2.  6.  XuTfov  is  also  used  by  the  Sepluagiut  as  the  translatiou 
of  the  Hebrew  Pidion,  the  ransom  paid  for  a  man^s  life,  Ex.  21.  30; 
Num.  3.  49,  51;  and  also  as  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew  copher^ 
a  satisf action,  or  atonement  refused  for  the  life  of  a  murderer,  Num. 
35.  31.  The  same  word  Aut^o;  is  also  used  by  the  Septuagint  or 
Hellenistic  writers  instead  ol  the  Hebrew  Asham,  sin,  curse,  or  a 
sin  offering  or  expiatory  sacrifice,  Ex.  29.  14;  Lev.  5.  19,  and  7. 
2j  1  Sam.  6.  3;  Isaiah  53. 10,  compared  with  2  Cor.  5.  21;  1  Peter 
2.  24. 

The  doctrine  of  vicarious  and  expiatory  sacrifices  was  generally 
believed  by  both  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  world,  and  the  preposition 


SECTION  NINETY-FIFTFI. 

Parable  of  the  Labourers. 

Now  many  shall  be  first  that  are  last,  and  last  that  are 
first;  for  the  administration  of  heaven  resembles  the  con- 
duct of  a  householder,*  who  went  out  early  in  the  morn- 
ing to  hire  labourers  for  his  vineyard.  Having  agjreed 
with  some  for  a  denarie  a  day,  he  sent  them  into  his 
vineyard.  About  the  third  hour  he  went  out  and  seeing 
others  unemployed  in  the  market-place,  said  to  them: 
Go  ye  likewise  into  my  vineyard,  and  I  will  give  you 
what  is  reasonable.  Accordingly  they  went.  Again, 
about  the  sixtti  hour,  and  about  the  ninth,  he  went  out 


am  or  un-sf  joined  to  the  word  Xvt^ov,  has  been  justly  urged  in  proof  of 
the  doctrine  oi"  substifution.  This  u:*e  of  the  Greek  terms  we  find  fre« 
quently  in  both  the  Keathen  and  Christian  writers.  Lucian  repre- 
•ents  Ganymede  promisina;  to  sacrifice  a  ram  as  Xut^ov  vts^  sjao-j,  a  ran- 
som for  himself,  provided  he  should  be  dismissed.  One  would  al- 
most think  that  the  words  of  this  text  were  paraphrased  into  Latin, 
on  reading  in  Virgil,  Unum  pro  inultis  dahitur  caput.  One  man 
must  be  given  instead  of  many.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  pre- 
diction of  Caiaphas;  It  is  expedient  th.it  one  man  should  die  instead 
ef  the  people,  and  the  whole  nation  perish  not,  John  11.  30.  Thus 
aUo  Alcestes  apud  Euripid. 

Eyw  cr-.   7r^i3-3'.Vii<Tcc,  k    avrt    t*ij    e^ij; 

In  this  quotation  from  Euripides  both  ccvti  and  w.^  are  employed 
in  the  sense  of  instead  of.  Many  similar  examples  have  been  ad- 
duced by  Casaul)on,  Salmasius,  Pi^arson,  Le  Clerc  and  others.  This 
doctrine  of  Christ  givinghimself  a  redemption  price,  or  instead  of 
that  price  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  is  unquestionably  the  import 
ofJohn  15.  13;  Rom.  5.  6,  7,  8;  1  Peter  3.  18.  The  belief  of  this 
doctrine  is  that  which  gives  efficacy  to  faith;  hence  a  firm  reliance  oa 
the  vicarious  sufferings  of  Jesus  is  essential  to  the  faith  and  name  of 
a  true  Christian,  and  indispensible  to  the  vitality  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

*  Lightfoot,  Hammond,  and  others  think  this  parable  was  in  com- 
mon use  among  the  Jews,  be<:  luse  they  find  it  in  the  Talmud  or  Je- 
rusalem Gemara,  book  Berachoth,  though  they  acknowledge  that  it 
is  not  verbatim  the  same  as  that  in  the  gospel:  but.Le  Clerc  thinks 


348         PARABLE  OF  THE  LABOURERS. 

and  did  the  same.  Lastly,  about  the  eleventh  hour  he 
went  out,  and  finding  others  unemployed,  said  to  them: 
Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  doing  nothing?  They  an- 
swered: Because  no  man  has  hired  us.  He  said  to  them: 
Go  ye  also  into  my  vineyard.  And  when  it  was  night, 
the  proprietor  of  the  vineyard  said  to  his  steward:  Call 
the  labourers,  and  pay  them  their  wages,  beginning  with 


these  men  do  not  sufficiently  regmd  the  character  of  a  divine  teach- 
er, when  they  represent  him  using  common  proverbs  as  his  own,  and 
thinks  it  more  probable  that  the  writer  of  the  Talmud  should  have 
imitated  the  gospel  parable. 

The  intention  of  the  parable  is  to  reprove  the  spirit  of  Pharisaic 
pride  and  the  ambitious  disposition  of  some  of  his  own  disciples,  who 
being  first  called,  and  consequently  having  laboured  in  the  service  of 
religion  longer  than  others,  imagined  that  they  had  a  preference, 
and  ought  to  obtain  the  chief  honours  of  God's  kingdom.  Jesus 
informs  them,  that  those  who  were  first  might  be  last,  and  those  that 
shall  be  last  may  become  first  or  most  eminent.  This  he  assumes 
as  his  text,  with  which  he  begins  and  concludes  the  parable  intend- 
ed for  its  illustration.  In  this  beautiful  simile,  Christ  teaches  a  doc- 
trine which  we  see  every  day  exemplified,  that  not  those  who  live 
longest  or  begin  the  pursuits  ef  commerce,  literature,  or  science, 
or  religion,  do  always  attain  the  greatest  eminence  and  successa, 
but  often  others  who  arise  in  later  years,  do  by  greater  diligence 
and  more  favourable  opportunities,  excel  and  surpass  their  prede- 
cessors. Hence  Jesus  informs  his  disciples,  that  none  should  be 
esteemed  first  or  chief  by  him  merely  because  they  thought  them- 
selves to  be  so,  as  did  the  Pharisees,  nor  should  any  be  preferred, 
merely  because  they  had  been  first  called  as  were  the  Jews  into  the 
Church,  and  Peter,  James,  and  John,  to  the  apostleship.  Nor 
should  any  be  preferred  on  account  ef  earthly  extraction,  as  the 
Jews  who  boasted  of  relationship  to  Abrah;im,  and  John  and  James, 
who  were  our  Lord's  brethren,  for  he  had  taught  them,  that  they 
should  be  considered  his  mother  and  brethren,  who  hear  the  word 
of  God,  and  do  the  will  of  his  Father  in  Heaven,  Matt.  13,  50,  and 
Luke  8.  21  Nor  lastly,  should  any  be  preferred,  because  oi  age, 
riches,  dignity,  or  office,  but  they  who  in  preaching  his  doctrine  and 
promoting  the  cause  of  his  religion  on  earth,  would  sustain  the 
greatest  labours  and  suffermgs,  and  show  the  greatest  cheerfulness 
and  persevering  industry. 

There  are  seven  particulars  in  this  parable  worthy  of  notice,  and 
though  many  have  spoken  well  on  the  design  and  import  of  this 
parable,  we  feel  disposed  to  follow  Wetsteia's  opinion,  with  a  few 
variations. 


PARABLE  OF  THE  LABOURERS.         349 

tbe  last,  and  ending  with  the  first.  Then  they  who  had 
been  hired  at  the  eleventh  hour  came,  and  received  each 
a  denarie.  When  the  first  came  they  imagined  they 
ehould  receive  more ;  but  they  received  each  only  a  de- 
narie. Upon  receiving  it,  they  murmured  against  the 
householder,  saying:  These  last  have  worked  but  one 
hour;  yet  thou  hast  made  them  equal  to  us  who  have 


1  The  kingdom,  ^aa-iXuci,  of  the  highest  Heaven,  means  the  ad- 
ministration of  that  kingdom  through  the  medium  of  divine  Revela- 
tion, in  the  hands  of  a  Mediator,  both  under  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian dispensations;  and  subsequently  over  the  souls  of  the  redeem- 
ed, to  all  eternity. 

2  The  Householder  is  God  the  Father,  from  whom  are  all  things, 
Rom.  11.  36,  2  Cor.  5.  18.  This  is  the  Householder,  who  planted 
the  vineyard.  Matt,  21.  33,  and  who  is  called  by  the  Evangelical 
Prophet,  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Isaiah  5.  7. 

3  The  Vineyard  is  the  Church  of  God  including  all  believers, 
nnder  every  dispensation  of  revealed  religion,  Is.  5.  1 — 10;  Ps. 
79.  15;  Matt.  21.41;  Rom.  2.28,  29,  and  11.  17,  18,24. 

4  The  labourers  are  the  officers  of  God's  kingdom,  especially,  the 
ministers  of  his  Church;  but  generally,  wndiO^  this  title,  may  be  ad- 
mitted, all  professors  of  true  religion,  who  in  their  various  stations 
have  employment  appointed  them  by  God:  and  all  of  them  are  called 
to  work  out  their  own  salvation,  with  fear  and  trembling,  Philip, 
2.  12. 

5  The  time  of  labour^  is  manifestly  the  time  of  life,  John  9.  4. 
contrasted  with  that  night  of  death,  when  no  man  can  work,  or  the 
grave  where  there  is  no  work,  knowledge,  or  wisdom,  Eccles.  9. 
10.  This  day  is  divided  into  four  parts,  after  the  Jewish  custom, 
John  11.  9.  It  was  usual  in  Judea  to  divide  the  day  into  twelve 
hours,  beginning  to  reckon  at  sunrise  or  six  o'clock  in  the  morning; 
and  consequently  their  third  hour,  answered  to  our  ninth,  and  the 
aixth  to  our  twelfth.  The  five  calls  may  be  referred  to  childhood, 
youth,  manhood,  middle  age,  and  old  age. 

6  The  Steward,  is  the  Lord  Jesus,  whom  God  has  appointed  to  be 
Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  John  5.22;  Acts  17.  3l.  The 
evening  of  the  day,  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  called  the  twelfth 
hour  by  the  Jews,  here  signifies  the  time  of  death  when  Christ, 
by  the  command  and  appointment  of  God,  rewards  every  man  ac- 
cording to  his  works.  Here  then  we  have  a  proof  that  the  day  of 
judgment  is  not  the  same  time,  in  respect  to  all,  but  is  at  the  time 
«f  each  man's  departure  out  of  this  world. 

45 


350  PARABtE  OP  THE  LABOURERS. 

borne  the  burden  and  the  heat  of  the  day.  He  answer- 
ing said  to  one  of  them:  Friend,  1  do  thee  no  injury. 
Didst  not  thou  agree  with  me  for  a  denarie?  take  what 
is  thine,  and  depart.  It  is  my  will  to  give  to  this  last  as 
much  as  to  thee.  And  may  not  I  do  what  I  will  with 
mine  own.''  Is  thine  eye  evil,  because  I  am  good.'*  Thus 
the  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last. 


7  The  wages.  Grotius  adduces  a  passage  from  Tacitus  to  show, 
that  the  usual  hire  of  a  man  for  a  day  was  one  denarie:  equal  to  seven 
pence  three  farthings  English,  or  twelve  and  a  half  cents  American. 
None  therefore  were  promised  more  than  a  denarie,  and  if  those 
who  wrouglit  one  hour  obtained  a  full  day's  wages,  it  was  either  on 
account  of  the  gracious  bounty  of  ihe  Householder,  or  because  of 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  their  labour. 

Let  us  beware  of  wresting  this  parable  to  our  own  destruction. 
Let  not  the  conclusion  be  drawn  that  all  men  shall  obtain  equal  rank 
and  happiness  in  another  world;  for  this  is  repugnant  to  the  very 
letter  of  this  parable,  which  supposes  all  who  receive  any  wages  to 
have  been  labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  God,  and  consequently  must 
have  been  not  only  professed,  but  also  fruitful  members  of  Christ's 
Church  on  earth.  Nor  let  any  man  imagine  that  if  he  turn  to  God 
late  in  life,  or  even  on  a  death  bed,  his  reward  shall  be  equal  to  his 
who  bare  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day;  for  this  conclusion  is  re- 
futed by  the  parable  of  the  ten  talents,  which  gives  to  every  one  ac- 
cording to  his  improvement,  Matt.  25.  14, — 29;  compared  with  Luke 
19.  12 — 21:  and  also  to  the  promise  of  Christ  to  the  apostles  that 
they  should  be  distinguished  as  Judges  of  Israel  in  his  liingdom, 
Matt.  19.  28,  and  Luke  22.  30.  If  therefore  a  Paul  come  into  the 
vineyard,  as  one  born  out  of  due  time,  and  obtain  a  higher  rank  than 
another  apostle,  it  is  because  he  laboured  more  abundantly  than 
them  all,  by  travelling,  preaching,  and  suffering  more  than  any 
other,  1  Cor.  15.  7 — 10.  And  ms  Paul  was  the  last  and  chief  of 
the  apostles,  the  reason  readily  appears  why  Jesus  put  the  first  last, 
and  the  last  first. 


SECTION  NINETY-SIXTH. 

Lazarus  raised  from  the  Dead. 

Now  one  Lazarus  of  Bethany,  the  village  of  Mary 
and  her  sister  Martha,  was  sick.     This  Mary  whose 


LAZARUS  RAISED  FROM  THE  DEAD.  351 

lirother  was  sick,  was  the  same  that  anointed*  the  Lord 
with  perfumes  and  wiped  his  feet  with  her  hair.  The 
sisters  therefore  sent  to  tell  Jesus:  iMaster,  lo,  he  whom 
thou  lovest  is  sick.  Jesus  hearing  it  said:  This  sick- 
ness will  not  prove  fatal,  but  conduce  to  the  glory  of 
God,  that  the  Son  of  God  may  be  glorified  thereby. 
Now  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her  sister,  and  Lazarus. 
Having  then  heard  that  he  was  sick,  Jesus  stayed  two 
days  in  the  place  where  he  was. 

Afterwards  he  said  to  his  disciples:  Let  ns  return  to 
Judea.  The  disciples  answered:  Rabbi,  but  very  lately 
the  Jews  would  have  stoned  thee,  and  wouldest  thou 
return  thither?  Jesus  replied:  Are  there  not  twelve 
hours  in  the  day.'*  If  any  man  walk  in  the  day,  he 
stumbles  not,  because  he  sees  the  light  of  this  world: 
but  if  he  walk  in  the  night,  he  stumbles;  because  there 
is  no  light.  Having  spoken  thus,  he  added:  Our  friend 
Lazarus  sleeps;  but  I  go  to  wake  him.  Then  said  his 
disciples:  Master,  if  he  sleep,  he  will  recover.  Jesus 
spake  of  his  death;  but  they  thought  he  spake  of  the 
repose  of  sleep.  Then  Jesus  told  them  plainly:  Lazarus 
is  dead.  And  on  your  account  1  am  glad  that  I  was  not 
there,  that  ye  may  believe;  but  let  us  go  to  him.  Then 
Thomas  said  to  his  fellow-disciples:  Must  we  also  go 
that  we  may  die  with  him.'' 

When  Jesus  came,  he  found  that  Lazarus  had  been 
already  four  days  in  the  tomb.  Now  Bethany  being 
only  about  fifteen  furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  many  of  the 
Jews  came  to  Martha  and  Mary  to  comfort  them  on  the 
death  of  their  brother,  Martha,  having  heard  that 
Jesus  was  coming,  went  and  mot  him;  but  Mary  re- 
mained in  the   house.     Then    Martha  said  to  Jesus: 


*The  anointing  to  which  the  Evangelist  alludes,  is  that  men- 
tioned, John  12.  3,  which  happened  at  the  house  of  Simon  the 
leper,  only  six  days  b 'fore  the  Pasiover,  and  about  five  before 
Christ's  death.  Jolin  therefore  anticipates  the  account,  because 
it  served  to  designate,  more  particularly,  the  person  of  whom  he 
spoke.  • 


352  LAZARUS  RAISED  FROM  THE  DEAD. 

Master,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had  not 
died.  But  I  know  that  even  now,  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  ask  of  God,  He  will  give  thee.  Jesus  said  to 
her:  Thy  brother  shall  rise  again.  Martha  replied:  I 
know  that  he  will  rise  again  at  the  resurrection*  on- 
the  last  d'ly.  Jesus  said  to  her:  I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life  f  He  who  believes  on  me,  though  he 
were  dead,  shall  live;  and  whosoever  lives  and  believes 
on  me,  shall  never  die.J:  Believest  thou  this?  She  an- 
swered: Yes,  Master,  I  believe  that  thou  art  the  Mes- 
siah, the  Son  of  God,  he  who  comes  into  the  world. 
Having  said  this,  she  went  and  called  Mary  her  sister, 
whispering  her:  The  teacher  is  come,  and  calls  for  thee. 
When  Mary  heard  this,  she  instantly  rose  and  went  to 
him.  Now  Jesus  had  not  yet  entered  the  village,  but 
was  in  the  place  where  Martha  met  him.  The  Jews 
then,  who  were  condoling  with  Mary  in  the  house, 
when  they  saw  that  she  arose  hastily,  and  went  out, 
followed  her,  saying:  She  is  going  to  the  tomb  to  weep 


*  From  this  reply  of  Martha,  it  is  manifest  that  the  belief  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection  was  general  among  the  Jews,  in 
the  time  of  Christ.  Indeed  this  doctrine,  is  very  expressly  ac- 
knowleged,  167  years  before  Christ,  2  Mace.  7.  9,  14,  and  12. 
43.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  fix  on  any  period  of  history,  whether 
Jewish  or  Heathen,  when  this  doctrine  of  a  future  existence  was 
not  generally  believed,  in  the  religious  world. 

t  Here  the  language  is  figurative,  the  effect  being  put  for  the 
cause.  Jesus  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life  because  he  is  the 
author  of  both  to  all  true  believers.  Every  soul  that  shall  enjoy 
immortality  or  a  resurrection  to  everlasting  life,  will  feel  his  ob- 
ligation to  the  mediatorial  ofiice  of  Jesus.  Bengel's  note  is 
worthy  of  respect:  "I  am  the  resurrection  of  the  dying,  and  the 
life  of  the  living.  He  first  speaks  of  believers  who  died  before 
Christ,  and  secondly  of  believers  falling  asleep  after  the  death  of 
Christ.  All  who  saw  Christ  in  faith  and  died  before  his  death, 
vere  included  among  those  who  rose  at  his  resurrection,  Matt. 
27.  52.  The  word  resurrection  is  properly  applicable  to  the 
Christian  religion*"  Paul  says,  Christ  was  the  first  born  and  first 
fruits  from  the  dead,  because  none  obtained  a  resurrection  till 
after  his  ascension. 
•  I  This  declaration  of  our  Lord  seems  to  limit  the  resurrectioB 


LAZARUS  RAISED  FROM  THE  DEAD.  S53 

there.  Mary  having  come  to  the  place  where  Jesus 
was,  and  seeing  him,  threw  herself  at  his  feet,  saying: 
Master,  hadst  thou  been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died. 
When  Jesus  saw  her  weeping,  and  the  Jews  weeping 
who  came  with  her,  he  groaned  deeply,  and  was  trou- 
bled, and  said:  Where  have  ye  laid  him?  They  an- 
swered: Master,  come  and  see  Jesus  wept.  The  Jews 
therefore  said:  Mark  how  he  loved  hitn.  But  some  of 
them  said:  Could  not  he  who  gave  sight  to  the  blind 
man,  have  even  prevented  this  man's  death?  Jesus 
therefore  again  groaning,  came  to  the  monument.  It 
was  a  cave,  the  entrance  whereof  was  shut  with  a 
stone.  Jesus  said:  Remove  the  stone.  Martha,  th© 
sister  of  the  deceased,  answered:  Sir,  by  this  time  the 
smell  is  offensive,*  for  this  is  the  fourth  day.     Jesus  re- 


to  true  believers,  and  unequivocally  affirms  that  there  shall  be  no 
suspension  of  life  to  these  believers,  they  shall  never  die.  It  is  a 
perversion  of  Christ's  words  to  translate  them,  shall  not  die  for 
ever.  It  is  the  peculiar  privilege  of  the  Christian  believer,  to 
pass  immediately  from  a  dissolvino;  body  to  the  upper  mansions, 
which  Christ  has  prepared  for  their  eternal  abode.  Hence  the 
doctrine  of  the  soul's  sleep,  is  not  merely  a  false  notion  but  an 
anti-scriptural  and  injuriDus  heresy. 

*Our  Lord  gave  lite  to  the  human  body  at  different  times,  in  va- 
rious stages  of  corruptioa  and  decay.  The  body  of  the  widow's 
son  was  restored  wit  .in  one  or  twu  days  aftei  his  decease:  for  he 
was  recalled  to  life  as  they  were  carrying  him  to  the  grave.  The 
resurrection  of  Lazarus  was  the  third  instance,  and  it  was  at- 
tended with  some  striking  peculiarities.  The  body  had  lain  four 
days  in  the  grave.  In  those  warm  climates,  the  terrible  process 
of  corruption  and  decay  was  always  rapid.  The  flesh  would  have 
begun  to  mingle  with  its  kindred  elements.  Tue  relations  and 
friends  of  the  departed  were  so  sensible  of  this,  that  they  at- 
tempted to  dissuade  our  Lord  from  going  to  the  sepulchre.  Al- 
though they  knew  that  he  had  raised  one  man  from  the  dead, 
they  did  not  believe  it  possible  that  He  could  restore  life  to  him, 
who  for  so  many  days  had  "said  to  corruption,  thou  art  my  father, 
and  to  the  worm,  tnou  art  my  sister  and  brother"  Our  Lord, 
however   proceeded  to  demonstrate  his  mighty  power,  and  the 

freat  truths  he  had  come  down  to  teach,  by  the  resistless  evi- 
ence  of  a  public  and  undeniable  fact.     No  sooner  were  the  words 
uttered,  ''Lazarus  come  forth,"  than  he  that  was  dead  came  forth. 


354  LAZARUS  RAISED  FROM  THE  DEAD. 

plied:  Said  I  not  to  tbee,  If  thou  believe,  thou  shalt 
see  the  glory  of  God?  Then  they  removed  the  stone. 
And  Jesus  lifting:  up  his  eyes,  said:  Father,  I  thank  thee 
that  thou  hast  heard  me.  As  for  me,  1  know  that  thou 
hearest  me  always;  but  I  speak  for  the  people's  sake 
who  surround  me,  that  they  may  believe  that  thou  hast 
sent  me.  After  these  words,  raising  his  voice,  he  cried: 
Lazarus,  come  forth.  And  he  who  had  been  dead  came 
forth,  bound  hand  and  foot  with  fillets,  and  his  face 
wrapped  in  a  handkerchief.  Jesus  said  to  them:  Un- 
bind him,  and  let  him  go.  Many  therefore  of  the  Jews 
who  had  come  to  Mary,  and  seen  what  Jesus  did,  be- 
lieved on  him.  But  some  of  them  repaired  to  the 
Pharisees,  and  told  them  what  Jesus  had  done. 


Unable  to  walk,  for  he  was  swaddled,  and  bound  both  hand  and 
foot  in  his  grave  clothes,  according  to  the  Jewish  custom,  he 
glided  forth  from  the  grave,  and  appeared  among  the  astonished 
multitude.  His  body  was  unchanged.  He  was  again  to  dwell 
with  his  family  and  friends,  tlie  same  as  he  had  ever  been.  Like 
the  daughter  of  Jairus,  and  the  widow's  sotj,  he  was  again  to  re- 
sume his  place  in  society,  to  fulfil  the  ordinary  duties  of  life,  and 
his  body  resumed  the  same  functions  and  properties  as  it  had  ever 
possessed.  And  we  are  iiiformed,  by  the  history  of  the  early 
Church,  that  Lazai  us  livrd  for  many  years,  an  unexceptionable 
witness  of  the  truth  of  God,  and  the  divine  mission  of  Christ. 

The  resurrection  of  Lazarus  was  the  last  and  most  solemn  ap- 
peal <»f  a  miracul(*U'  nature,  whidi  he  made  to  the  Jewish  nation 
before  his  apprehi  nsion.  John  is  the  only  Evangelist  who  has 
related  the  miracle,  and  he  pioceeds  to  mention  the  consequences 
both  to  Christ  himself  and  to  the  Jewish  nation.  Immediately 
after  the  bystanders  !iad  reported  the  miracle  to  the  Sanhedrim, 
they  decided  upon  putting  Jesus  to  death.  He  thereupon  re- 
tired to  Ephraim,  about  twenty  miles  from  Jerusalem,  that  he 
might  escape  the  persecution  of  the  Jews,  who  were  anxiously 
bent  on  his  destruction,  John  11.  55^  and  remained  there  with  his 
disciples  until  six  days  before  the  Passover,  whe.i  he  went  to 
Betliany,  to  sup  with  Lazirus  and  was  anointed  by  Aiary.  The 
internal  e\ideuce  arising  from  the  conversation  which  the  three 
Evangelists  have  recorded,  seems  to  be  decisive  of  the  propriety 
of  this  arrangement. 


SECTION  NINETY  SEVENTH. 

Decree  of  the   Sanhedrim. 

Then  the  Chief  Priests  and  Pharisees  assembled  the 
Sanhedrim,  and  said.  What  are  we  doing.?  This  man 
performs  many  miracles,  and  if  we  suffer  him  thus  to 
proceed,  all  the  people  will  believe  in  him,  and  the  Ro- 
mans will  come  and  destroy  both  this  place  and  our  na- 
tion. One  of  them  named  Caiaphas,  being  High  Priest 
that  year,  said  to  them:  Are  ye  so  void  of  understand- 
ing, as  not  to  consider,  that  it  is  more  expedient  for  us, 
that  one  man  should  die  instead  of  the  people,  than  that 
the  whole  nation  should  perish.'*  This  he  said  not 
merely  of  himself,  but  being  High  Priest,  he  prophesied 
that  Jesus  would  die  for  that  nation:  and  not  for  that 
nation  only;  but  that  he  might  gather  into  one  body, 
the  children  of  God,  who  were  scattered  abroad.  So 
on  that  day,*  they  resolved  to  put  Jesus  to  death.  Then 
Jesus  walked  no  longer  publicly  among  the  Jews,  but 
departed  to  the  country,  near  the  wilderness,  into  a  city 
called  Ephraim,  and  there  abode  with  his  disciples. 
Then  the  Chief  Priests  and  Pharisees  issued  an  order, 
that  if  any  man  knew  where  Jesus  was,  he  should  give 
information,  that  they  might  apprehend  him.  The 
Chief  Priests  also  determined  to  kill  Lazarus,  because, 
by  his  means,  many  of  the  Jews,  withdrew  and  believed 
on  Jesus. 


*  This  public  act  of  the  Jewish  nation  sealed  their  destiny.  Ta 
no  instance  has  the  Latin  proverb  been  more  applicable,  Quos  vult 
■perdere  Deus  prius  deuientat.  Their  worldly  prudence  lead  thena 
to  sacrifice  an  innocent  man  as  a  means,  in  their  opinion,  of  public 
safety,  but  the  shedding  of  his  blood  filled  the  cup  of  their  iniquity, 
and  the  cup  of  God's  wrath  was  poured  out  upon  their  nation. 
Their  most  sacred  things  had  become  venal,  and  by  the  influence  of 
bribery  or  a  heathen  power,  the  High  Priest  was  changed  frequent- 
ly. Caiaphas,  as  appears  from  Acts  4.  6,  and  5.  17,  was  a  Sad- 
ducean  infidel,  who  reg;ird  the  present  world  as  the  sole  portion 
of  man,  and  therefore  advised  the  death  of  Jesus  as  conducive  to 
national  welfare. 


SECTION  NINETY-ETGHTH. 

Christ's  last  Journef  to  Jerusalem. 

But  when  the  Passover  of  the  Jews  was  near,  many 
went  up  to  Jerusalem  from  that  country,  before  the  Pass- 
over,* to  purify  themselves.     And  the  people  were  seek- 


*The  Passover,  the  Pentecost,  and  the  feast  of  the  Tabernacles, 
were  festiv;ils,  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  commemorating  the 
wonderful  kindness  of  God.  The  Pentecost  continued  only  for 
one  day,  the  Passover  seven,  and  the  feast  of  the  Tabernacles  eight, 
but  the  first  and  the  last  only,  in  both  cases,  were  properly  consid- 
ered festival  days,  in  which  no  employment,  farther  than  was  ne» 
cessary  to  prepare  food,  was  permitted.  Exod.  12.  16.  Lev. 
23.  7.' 

At  the  return  of  the  three  great  festivals,  all  the  adult  Jews  made 
their  appearance,  either  at  the  tabernacle  or  temple,  with  presents, 
which  were  taken  from  the  second  tythes,  the  firstlings  of  the  se- 
cond product  of  the  flocks,  and  the  second  first-fruits.  They  of- 
fered sacrifices,  feasted;  and  with  songs,  music,  and  dances,  re- 
joiced in  GofI,  as  a  being  wonderful  for  his  mercies. 

The  Festival  of  the  Passover  was  instituted  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  among  the  Hebrews  the  memory  of  their  liberation 
from  Egyptian  servitude,  and  of  the  safety  of  their  first-born  on 
that  night,  when  the  fiist  born  of  the  Egyptians  perished,  Exod.  12. 
It  was  celebrated  for  seven  days  from  the  15th  of  the  month  Abib 
or  Nisan,  answering  to  the  first  week  of  April;  or  commencing  at 
the  first  vernal  full  moon.  Exod.  12.  1—28.  28,  15.  Lev.  23.  4 
—8.  \um.  28.  16—25.  Deut.  16.  1—8. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  passover  was  so  named  from  the  angel's 
passing  over  the  houses  of  the  Israelites,  and  sparing  their  first- 
born, when  those  of  the  Egyptians  were  put  to  death.  Exod.  xii. 
12.  13.  The  Hebrew  verb,  whence  the  word  passover  is  de- 
rived, does  not  only  signify  to  pass  from  one  place  to  another,  but 
also  to  pass  over,  to  spare,  to  pass  without  doing  any  harm;  and 
therefore  the  Seventy  have  rendered  it  by  a  word  that  signifies  to 
protect.  The  name  of  passover  was  also  given  to  the  lamb,  that 
was  killed  on  the  first  day  of  this  feast,  Ezra  vi.  20.  Matth.  xxvi. 
17.  Hence  these  expressions,  to  eat  fAe  passoT^er,  Mark  xiv.  12. 
14,  to  sacrifice  the  passover:  1  Cor.  v.  7;  and  hence  also  it  is  that 
Paul  calls  Jesus  Christ  our  passover,  1  Cor.  v.  7,  that  is,  our 
paschal  lamb.  The  passover  was  otherwise  named  the  feast  of  un- 
leavened bread,  Luke  xxii.  1.  Mark  xiv.  12,  because  it  was  unlaw- 
ful to  69^  nnv  other  sort  of  bread  during  the  seven  days  the  feast 


DEGREE    OF    THE    SANHEDRIM.  ^67 

ing  Jesus,  and  saying  each  to  the  other  as  they  stood  in 
the  temple:  What  think  ye,  will  he  come*  to  the  festival 
Now  as  Jesus  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  while  they 
were  on  the  way,  Jesus  walked  before  f  the  disciples, 
and  they  followed  him  with  astonishment  and  fear. 
Then  he  took  the  twelve  apart,  and  said  to  them:  Be- 
hold we  are  going  to  Jerusalem,  and  all  that  the  Proph- 
ets have  written  J  concerning  the   Son  of  Man,  shall  be 


lasted,  Exod.  xii.  18;  Numb,  xxviii.  17;  Deut.  xvi.  8.  This 
name,  however,  more  particularly  belongs  to  the  second  day  of  the 
feast,  I.  e.  the  fifteenth  of  the  month,  Lev.  xxiii.  6.  Mark  xiv.  I. 
We  have  an  account  of  all  the  ceremonies  belonging  to  the  passover 
in  several  places  of  the  Pentateuch,  They  may  be  reduced  to 
these  three  heads.  1.  The  killing  and  eating  of  the  prtschnl  lamb, 
2.  The  eating  the  unleavened  bread.  And,  3,  The  ofl'ering  up  to 
God  the  omer,  or  handful  of  barley. 

We  have  now  followed  the  transactions  of  our  Lord  as  far  as  tCt 
corded  by  the  Evangelists,  from  his  birth  to  within  one  week  of  his 
crucifixion.  During  his  public  ministry  we  find  he  attended  one 
Passover,  Section  twenty-sixth,  p.  98;  one  Pentecost,  Section  forty- 
fifth,  p.  172;  one  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  Section  sixty-third,  p.  240; 
one  Feast  of  Dedication,  Section  eighty  ninth,  p.  332;  and  now  we 
are  following  him  to  Jerusalem  to  a  second  Passover,  at  which  he  is 
crucified:  So  that  the  whole  public  ministry  of  Christ  is  included 
in  16  months  from  the  beginning  of  A.  D.  :il  to  April  A.  D.  32,  an- 
swering to  the  years  29  and  30  of  the  vulgar  era.  See  this  chrono- 
logy established  in  the  notes,  pp.  20 — 24. 

*  This  inquiry  was  either  made  by  the  people  coming  from  the 
country  and  others  who  were  desirous  of  hearing  Jesus,  and  seeing 
his  miracles;  or  by  those  who  were  inimically  disposed  towards  him, 
and  therefore  willing  that  he  might  be  delivered  to  the  Chief  Priests? 
or  lastly  it  may  have  been  made  by  those  who  felt  no  other  interest 
than  mere  curiosity  to  know  whether  he  would  venture  under  ex- 
isting circumstances  to  attend  the  Passover. 

t  Notwithstanding  Jesus'  fore-knowledge  of  the  awful  events  that 
should  befall  him  at  Jerusalem,  he  is  first  in  the  company,  walking 
before.  But  he  came  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father,  and  set  us  an  ex- 
ample, that  we  should  follow  his  steps;  therefore  when  duty  calls, 
daager  must  be  braved.  Life  and  all  we  are  or  have,  must  be  made 
a  free  will  offering  to  God,  if  we  would  receive  his  approbation,  or 
enter  the  heaven  he  has  prepared. 

I  Peter  says  the  Prophets  testified  before  hand  of  his  suff'eringnif 
46  ■ 


158         DECREE  OP  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

accomplished ;  for  he  shall  be  delivered  to  the  Chief 
Priests  and  Scribes,  who  will  condemn  him  to  death; 
and  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles,  who  shall  mock  him, 
insult  him,  spit  on  him,  scourge  him,  and  crucify  him: 
but  being  put  to  death,  he  will  rise  again  on  the  third 
day  * 


and  the  glory  that  should  folloxa ,  1  Peter  1.11.  See  and  compare, 
Ps.  2.  1,  2,  ;>nd  22.  6,  7.  8;  Is.  50.  6;  and  53.  5,  6,  10,  12;  Micah 
6.1;  Ps.  16.  10,  and  22.  15;  anfl  Hosea  6.  2.  In  these  passages, 
all  the  events  which  Christ  foretells  should  befall  him  at  Jerusalem, 
are  minutely  described  by  the  Prophets. 

*  The  last  passage  cited  in  the  foregoing  note,  Hosea  6.  9,  says: 
On  the  third  day  he  shall  raise  him  up.  This  is  perfectly  harmo- 
nious with  the  words  of  the  Evangelists,  Matt.  20.  19,  Mark  10. 
34,  Luke  18.  33.  See  the  note  on  the  Jewish  method  of  calculating 
time,  p.  184. 


SECTION  NINETY  NINTH. 

Cure  of  Blind  Bartimeus. 

As  they  proceeded  on  their  journey,  and  came  nigh, 
they  entered  and  passed  through  Jericho.*     But  it  hap- 


*  Tlie  city  of  Jericho,  for  greatness  and  opulence,  was  inferior 
to  none  in  Palestine,  Jerusalem  excepted.  It  was  beautified  with 
a  palace  for  the  reception  of  the  governor,  if  he  chose  to  go 
thither,  with  an  ampitheatre  for  public  shows,  and  with  a  bippo- 
drame  for  horse  races.  The  city  was  pleasantly  situated  at  the 
foot  of  that  range  oi  hills  which  bounded  the  Campus  Magnus  to 
the  west.  The  country  round  was  the  most  fertile  spot  in  Canaan, 
yielding,  besides  tie  necessaries  of  lifie  in  great  abundance,  the 
best  palms,  also  excellent  honey,  and  the  famed  balsam  tree,  the 
most  precious  production  ol  the  earth.  I'he  fruitfulness  of  this  re- 
gion was  owing  to  various  causes,  and  among  the  rest  to  a  fine 
spring,  with  which  it  was  watered,  and  which  anciently  was  sweet- 
ened by  the  prophet  Elisha,  who  blessed  the  land  likewise  by  God's 
command,  with  perpetual  and  extraordinary  fruitfulness,  see  2  Kings 
2.  21.  The  air  here  was  exceedingly  mild,  for  when  it  snowed  in 
the  other  provinces  of  Palestine,  and  was  so  cold  that  they  were 


CURE    OF   BLIND    BAllTIMEUS.  359 

pened,  that  as  they  departed  from  Jericho,  a  great  multi- 
tude of  people  was  following  him,  and  lo!  blind  Barti- 
meus*  was  sitting  by  the  road  side  begging.  And  hear- 
ing the  multitude  pass,  he  inquired:  What  can  be  the 
matter?  And  being  told  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
passing,  he  cried:  Jesus,  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on 
me!  Then  those  who  were  walking  in  front  rebuked 
him,  that  he  might  be  silent,  but  he  cried  much  louder, 
Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me!  Jesus  stopping,  or- 
dered him  to  be  brought.     So  they  called  the  blind  man, 


obliged  to  make  use  of  the  warmest  clothing,  the  inhabitants  went 
about  clad  in  linen  only.  Hence,  as  Josephus  tells  us,  Bell.  v.  4, 
the  territory  of  Jericho  was  called  9?wv  x'''?^°''>  ^  heavenly  country, 
resembling  Paradise  for  beauty  of  prospe'^t,  fertility  of  soil,  and  fe- 
licity of  climate.  The  fountain  that  eniiched  this  delij;litful  spot 
was  so  large  as  to  deserve  the  name  of  a  water,  or  river,  Josh.xvi. 
1,  and  refreshed  by  a  plain  of  seventy  stadiums  long,  and  twenty 
broad.  But  the  excellency  of  its  quality  was  visible  in  its  effects; 
for  it  gladdened  the  whole  tract  through  which  it  glided,  and  made 
it  look  like  a  garden,  affording  a  prospect  the  more  agreeable,  as 
the  neighbouring  country  was  bleak  and  inhospitable.  Jericho  was 
120  stadiums,  i.  e.  fifteen  miles  from  Jerusalem,  almost  due  east, 
the  country  between  being  mountainous;  but  from  thence  to  the 
Jordan,  which  was  at  the  distance  of  twenty  stadiums,  or  two  miles 
and  a  half,  and  towards  the  Asphaltite  Lake,  the  land  was  flat  and 
barren. 

*  Lightfoot  supposes  that  Jesus  cured  one  blind  man  as  he  enter- 
ed Jericho,  of  whom  Luke  speaks,  and  another  as  he  departed 
from  Jericho,  of  whom  iMark  speaks,  and  that  Matthew  combines 
the  narrative  of  both,  as  that  of  the  same  event.  This  supposi- 
tion does  not  reconcile  the  discrepancy  in  the  narrative  of  Luke 
and  Mark,  concerning  the  scene  of  the  miracle;  for  they  place  it 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  city. 

The  general  conclusion  is,  that  the  histories  of  Mark  and  Luke 
are  two  distinct  narratives  of  two  separate  cures.  On  this  suppo- 
tion  proceed  the  Harmonies  of  Cliemnitius,  Richardson,  Lamy, 
Cartwright  and  Toinard.  But  the  probability  is  against  this  opin- 
ion, on  account  of  so  many  coincidences  in  both  n.irratives. 

in  the  series  of  the  several  circuiust  inces  uu-utioued  by  ail  the 
Evangelists  there  is  much  sameness.  1.  The  blind  mm  sat  by  the 
way-side,  near  Jericho.  2.  He  called  Jesus  the  Son  of  David.  3. 
The  multitude  rebuked  him.  4.  Jesus  stopped  and  called  him.  5. 
The  question  which  Jesus  asked,  and  the  answer  he  received  are 


360  CURE    OF    BLIND    BARTIMEUS, 

saying:  Take  courage,  arise,  he  calls  thee.  Then  he 
cast  aside  his  mantle,  sprang  up,  and  came  to  Jesus. 
And  when  he  came  near,  Jesus  said:  What  wouldst 
thou  that  I  should  do  for  thee?  The  blind  man  answer- 
ed: Master,  may  mine  eyes  be  opened,  that  I  may  re- 
ceive sight.  So  Jesus  being  moved  with  compassion9 
touched  his  eyes,  and  said:  Receive  thy  sight,  and  go 
thy  way,  thy  faith  has  cured  thee.  And  immediately 
he  received  sight,  and  followed  Jesus,  glorifying  God, 
Then  all  the  people  beholding,  gave  praise  to  God. 


the  same,  in  all  the  accounts.     And  6,  they  all  agree  that  the  blind 
man  followed  Jesus. 

If  Jesus  had  wrought  a  cure  of  this  sort  before  he  entered  Jer- 
icho, for  which  all  the  people  gave  praise  to  God;  it  is  not  easy  te 
imagine,  that  the  multitude  would,  immediately  after,  rebuke  anoth- 
er who  called  upon  him  in  the  very  same  manner.  And  though 
Ihe  accounts  vary  in  some  pvirticulars,  yet  no  where,  I  think,  so 
much  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  suppose,  that  they  are  relatiens  of 
diflferent  facts. 

The  most  rational  and  easy  solution  is  that  suggested  by  Michae- 
lis — that  the  contradiction  arises  from  a  mistake  of  Matthew's 
translator.  In  Syriac,  when  a  noun  is  ia  what  is  called  the  Status 
Emphaticus,  it  has  the  very  same  orthography,  in  both  the  singular 
^nd  plural  numbers,  and  the  number  can  only  be  distinguished  by 
the  punctuation:  likewise  in  the  verb,  the  third  person  singular  is 
sometimes  written  like  the  third  person  plural.  This  supposition 
will  sufficiently  reconcile  Matthew  and  Mark,  leaving  Timeus  as 
the  alone  subject  of  the  miracle. 

As  to  the  place,  Grotius,  Le  Clerc,  and  Townsend,  would  trans- 
late the  verb  tyyit^uv  to  be  near,  and  thus  make  Luke  say,  that  Jesus 
was  near  Jericho,  without  determining  on  what  side  of  the  city  he 
was.  Townsend  alleges,  Luke  19.  29,  as  a  parallel  phrase,  which 
must  be  rendered  Jes-us  was  nigh  to  Bethany,  though  he  thinks  all 
must  agree,  that  Jesus  was  going  from  that  village.  Boyer  and 
"Wakefield  suppose,  th'at  the  Evangelist  keeps  the  termination  of 
Christ's  journey  in  view  through  the  whole  narrative,  from  the 
time  Jesus  left  Ephraim,  which  lay  to  the  north  west  of  Jericho, 
till  he  entered  the  city  of  Jerusalem;  hence  they  suppose  that  the 
phrase  came  or  drew  nigh,  Luke  18.  35,  and  19.  29;  Mark  11.  1, 
has  always  allusion  to  Jerusalem,  and  not  to  Jericho,  or  Bethany. 
This  is  very  probable,  because  the  events  which  Jesus  predicted 
should  happen  on  their  arrival  at  Jerusalem,  absorbed  the  attention 
•f  the  writer. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDREDTH. 

Christ  tisits  Zaccheus. 

And  behold  a  man  named  Zaccheus,  a  rich  man,  and 
chief  of  the  publicans,  endeavoured  to  see  what  sort  of 
person  Jesus  was,  but  could  not  for  the  multitude,  being 
of  a  low  stature.  Therefore  running  before,  he  climbed 
up  into  a  sycamore  to  see  him.  When  Jesus  came  to 
the  place,  he  looked  up,  and  seeing  him,  said:  Zaccheus, 
make  haste  and  come  down,  for  to-day  I  must  abide  at 
thy  house.  And  he  made  haste  and  came  down,  and 
received  him  joyfully.  When  the  multitude  perceived 
this,  they  said,  murmuring:  He  is  gone  to  be  entertain- 
ed by  a  sinner.*  But  Zaccheus  presenting  himself  be- 
fore Jesus,  said:  Master,  the  half  of  my  goods  I  give 
to  the  poor;  and  if  in  aught  I  have  wronged  any  man,  I 
will  restore  fourfold.f  And  Jesus  said  concerning  him: 
To-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house,  inasmuch  as  he 
also  is  a  son  J  of  Abraham.  For  the  Son  of  Man  is 
come,  to  seek  and  save  that  which  was  lost. 


*So  great  was  the  prejudice  of  the  Jews  against  the  tax-gather- 
ers, that  they  continually  ranked  them  with  sinners.  Theopliylac 
says,  Luke  and  Mark  never  mention  the  name  of  Matthew,  who 
had  been  a  publican;  through  fear  of  bringing  reproach  on  the 
Gospel  among  the  Jews;  therefore  they  called  him  Levi.  See 
note  concerning  the  publicans,  p.  89,  Section  Twenty  Second. 

jThis  Zaccheus  says  concerning  his  general  principles  and 
conduct  in  vindication  of  himself  from  the  evil  surmises  of  the 
people.  Both  the  Jewish  and  Roman  laws  would  have  compelled, 
him  to  restore  fourfold,  if  found  guilty  of  unlawful  oppression,  in 
the  collection  of  the  taxes. 

I  From  what  Jesus  here  says,  as  well  as  from  the  name,  we  learn 
that  Zaccheus  was  a  Jew:  and  though  held  in  execration  for  his 
office,  especially  by  those  Jews  who  held  it  to  be  unlawful  to  pay 
taxes  to  a  heathen  government,  yet  being  a  Son  of  Abraham,  he 
was  one  of  those  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  which  the  Soa 
of  man  came  to  seek  and  save,  and  to  whose  recovery  and  con- 
version the  ministry  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  was  entirely  di- 
rected, till  the  ascension  of  Christ. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIRST. 

Parable  of  the  Minas. 

As  the  people  were  attentive  he  added  this  parable^ 
because  he  waii  nigh  to  Jerusalem,  and  they  imagined 
that  the  reign  of  G(k1  would  immediately  commence.* 
A  certain  nobleman  went  abroad f  to  procure  for  himself 
a  kinjrdom,  and  then  return;  and  having  called  ten  of 
his  servants,  and  delivered  them  ten  minas, J  he  said: 
Trade  with  those  till  I  return.  Now  his  citizens  hated 
him;  and  sending  an  embassy  after  him,  protested:  We 
will  not  have  this  man  for  our  king.  When  he  return- 
ed, vested  with  royal  power,  he  commanded  those  ser- 
vants to  be  called  to  whom  he  had  committed  the  mo- 
ney, that  he  might  know  what  every  one  had  gained.§ 


*In  the  precedinu;  Section  Jesus  had  said,  when  he  was  enter- 
tained at  the  house  of  Zaccheus,  this  day  is  salvation  come  to  this 
house.  From  this  circumstance  probably,  and  also  from  his  having 
said  a  little  time  before,  that  his  twelve  apostles  would  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  judj^ini;  the  twelve  iribes  of  Israel,  they  would 
naturally  enough,  considering  the  idea  they  had  of  their  master, 
and  his  kingdom,  be  led  to  expect  that  he  would  soon  assume 
kingly  power,  perh  ips  at  the  approaching  passover,  to  confound 
all  his  enemies,  and  ag!i;randize  his  friends.  It  was  with  a  view 
to  this  state  of  the  minds  of  his  disciples  that  Jesus  delivered 
the  parable. 

jThis  is  an  allusion  to  the  practice  of  the  kings  of  Judea,  and 
of  the  neiglibouring  countries,  to  go  to  Rome  to  obtain  from  the 
Emperors  the  confirmation  of  their  right  to  the  throne,  and  to  en- 
gage their  protection.  See  Josephus'  Antiq.  B.  14.  C.  14,  and 
B.  17.  C.  3. 

J!  agree  with  Dr.  Clarke,  that  there  is  an  impropriety  in  ren- 
dering the  oiiginal  word  pound.  The  Mina  or  Maneh  of  silver 
was  sixty  shekels,  reckoned  at  three  shillings  each  would  amount 
to  nine  pounds,  English,  but  the  gold  Mina  was  equal  to  £75.  A 
Mina  consisted  of  one  hundred  drachms,  and  sixty  Minas  made  a 
Talent.  By  the  Mina  we  are  to  understand  a  dispensation  of  the 
Gospel  given  to  each  of  Christ's  apostles  and  ministering  ser- 
vants, to  use  for  the  benefii  of  mankind,  and  the  promotion  of  the 
Mediator's  kingdom. 

§It  by  Jesus  going  away^  and  then  receiving  his  kingdom,  we 
are  to  understand  his  going  to  his  Father  and  then  his  returning 


PARABLE  OP  THE  MINAS.  363 

Then  came  the  first,  and  said:  My  lord,  thy  mina  has 
gained  ten  minas.  He  answered:  Well  done,  good  ser- 
rant,  because  thou  hast  hern  faithful  in  a  very  small 
matter,  receive  thou  the  government  of  ten  cities  * 
And  the  second  who  came  said:  My  lord,  thy  mina  has 
gained  five  minas.  He  answered:  Be  thou  too  "jovernor 
of  five  cities.  Another  came,  saying:  My  lord,  here  is 
thy  mina,  which  I  have  kept  laid  up  in  a  napkin;  for  I 
was  afraid  of  thee,t  because  thou  art  a  hard  master; 
thou  exactest  what  thou  didst  not  give,  and  reapest  what 
thou  didst  not  sow.  He  answered:  Out  of  thine  own 
mouth,  thou  malignant  servant,  I  will  condemn  thee. 


with  power  and  great  glory  to  raise  the  dead,  and  to  give  to  every 
nan  according  to  his  works,  we  may  learn  from  this  parable,  that 
the  happiness  of  heaven  is  not  a  state  of  mere  enjoyment,  with  )ut 
farther  exercise  or  discipline,  but  a  state  of  great  exertion,  like 
that  of  the  government  of  a  city,  or  a  province.  We  shall  then 
have  more  important,  but  more  honourable  work  to  do,  and  there- 
fore may  be  said  to  be  in  a  state  of  discipline  and  improvment,  as 
long  as  we  continue  to  exist.  So  that  it  is  only  in  a  popular  and 
general  sense  that  our  state  of  trial  is  said  to  terminate  with  the 
present  life;  the  station  we  immediately  enter  upon  in  the  next 
depending  upon  it. 

*Among  the  many  portions  of  scripture  that  teach  the  doctrine 
of  inequality  in  a  future  world,  the  present  parable  is  not  the 
least  conspicuous.  At  the  great  day  of  accounts,  every  man  shall 
receive  according  to  his  deeds.  He  'hat  gains  ten  Minas  by  tra- 
ding, will  be  over  ten  cities,  he  that  gains  five,  over  five  cities. 
That  is,  each  man  shall  appear  in  the  rank  and  digiiity  to  which 
his  conduct  and  services  entitle  him.  The  doctrine  of  perfect  equal" 
ity,  in  another  world,  has  no  practical  advantage  over  fitheisnu 

t  We  see  in  this  instance  what  miserable  excuses  men  are  ready 
to  make  for  their  neglect  of  duty.  '1  hey  are  fiist  governed  by 
their  passions,  or  by  their  indolence,  and  let  them  be  ever  so 
much  to  blame,  they  will  always,  like  Adam  aiid  Eve  in  paradise, 
find  something  to  plead  in  their  own  excuse.  This  we  see  to  be 
the  case  with  the  most  abandoned  of  men.  By  some  means  or 
other  they  often  succeed  in  pacifying  their  own  minds,  and  as  the 
prophet  says,  cry  peace,  peace  to  themselves,  when  there  is  no 
peace.  What  we  see  to  be  the  case  with  others,  we  should  always 
suspect  concerning  ourselves.  The  same  bias  in  our  own  favour, 
will  always  dictate  the  same  idle  excuses,  which  being  common 
to  all  men,  will  avail  us  nothing  at  the  last  day. 


364  PARABLE  OP  THE  MINAS. 

Didst  thou  know  that  I  am  a  hard  master,  exacting 
what  I  did  not  give,  and  reaping  what  I  did  not  sow? 
Why  then  didst  thou  not  put  my  money  into  the  bank, 
that  at  my  return  I  might  have  received  it  with  interest? 
Then  he  said  to  his  attendants:  Take  the  mina  from 
him,  and  give  it  to  him  who  has  ten  minas.  For  I  tell 
you,  that  to  every  one  who  improves,*  more  shall  be 
given;  but  from  him  who  does  not  improve,  even  that 
which  he  has  shall  be  taken.  But  as  for  those  mine 
enemies,  who  would  not  have  me  for  their  king;  bring 
them  hither  and  slay  them  in  my  presence.  And  having 
said  these  things  he  walked  before,  travelling  towards 
Jerusalem. 

*They  who  have  shewn  the  greatest  capacity,  and  the  best  dis- 
position to  improve  what  has  been  committed  to  them,  are  the 
most  proper  persons  to  receive  more.  But  it  is  still  as  a  farther 
trust,  which  they  are  to  improve,  and  not  merely  as  a  reward  for 
past  services;  an  opportunity  of  still  greater  exertion,  and  a 
sphere  of  higher  duty;  as  no  doubt  will  be  what  is  called  the 
happiness  of  a  heavenly  state. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SECOND. 

Jesus  sups  with  Simon  at  Bethany. 

Now  six  days  before  the  Passover,  Jesus  arrived  at 
Bethany,  where  Lazarus  dwelt  whom  he  had  raised 
from  the  dead.  And  one  of  the  Pharisees,  Simon  the 
Leper,  asked  Jesus  to  eat  with  him,  and  he  went  to  the 
Pharisee's  house.  When  supper  was  prepared  for  him, 
he  took  his  place  at  the  table,  and  Martha  waited,  but 
Lazarus  was  one  of  the  guests,  who  reclined  at  table 
with  Jesus.  Then  a  woman  of  that  city  called  Mary, 
who  had  been  a  sinner,  knowing  that  he  was  at  table  in 
the  Pharisee's  house,  brought  an  alabaster  box*  contain- 

*  In  Matthew  and  Luke  this  ointment  is  said  to  have  been  con- 
tained in  an  alabaster  box,  by  which  was  meant  a  vessel  without  a 


JESUS  SUPS  WITH  SIMON  AT  BETHANr.  365 

ing  a  pound  of  perfumed  balsam  of  spikenard,  which  was 
very  costly,  and  standing  at  his  feet,  and  breaking  the 
box,  she  poured  it  on  the  head  and  feet  of  Jesus;  and 
shedding  tears  on  his  feet,  she  kissed  them,  and  wiped 
them  with  the  tresses  of  her  hair;  and  the  house  was 
filled  with  the  odour  of  the  perfumes.* 

Now  when  the  Pharisee  who  had  invited  him,  saw 
this,  he  said  within  himself:  Should  not  this  man,  if  he 
be  a  prophet,  know  who  she  is,  and  what  sort  of  woman 
is  touching  him;  for  she  is  a  sinner.  Jesus  said  to  him: 
Simon,  I  have  something  to  say  to  thee.  He  replied: 
Teacher,  speak  on.  A  creditor  had  two  debtors,  one  of 
whom  owed  him  five  hundred  denaries;  the  other  fifty; 
but  as  they  were  not  able  to  pay,  he  freely  forgave  them 
both.  Now  which  of  these  would  love  him  most?  Si- 
mon answered:  He,  I  suppose,  to  whom  most  was  for- 
given.    Jesus  replied:    Thou  judgest   rightly.     Then 


handle  such  as  was  uspcI  for  holding  small  quantities  of  very  valua- 
ble things.  Pearce  •^ays,  Alabaster  was  a  substance  of  which  boxes 
were  so  commonly  made  tor  ointments,  that  ttiey  retained  the  same 
name  when  they  were  made  of  gold,  silver,  g'lss,  or  wood. 

*  In  respect  to  the  anointing  of  Jesus,  four  questions  are  agitated 
among  the  Harmonists:  I  V\  here  did  it  happen?  2  When?  3  How 
often?  4  By  whom?  Because  of  wh  it  has  been  already  said  by  va- 
rious disputants,  each  pirlicular  might  require  a  distinct  disserta- 
tion, but  we  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  discuss  so  exten- 
sively a  subject  which  rather  excites  the  curiosity,  than  promotes 
the  religious  improvement  of  mankind.  Ail  wdl  perceive  by  the 
arrangement  that  I  have  adopted,  that  1  believe  our  Lord  was 
anointed  only  once;  at  the  house  of  Simon  the  Leper,  in  Bethany;  six 
days  before  the  passover;  by  Mary  Magdalene  sister  of  Martha  and 
Lazarus,  All  these  four  conclusions,  I  have  adopted  from  a  con- 
viction, that  they  can  be  defended  against  all  that  has  been  said,  or 
can  be  said  on  the  subject. 

1  Tatian  the  oldest  Harmonist  connects  Luke  7.  37,  with  Matt. 
26.  7,  iMark  14.  3.  and  John  12.  3:  and  this  arrangement  has  been 
defended  by  Grotius  and  others. 

2  Each  Evangelist  mentions  only  one  anointing,  which  they  all 
agree  happened  at  a  feast. 

3  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  say   it  happened  at  the  house  of 

47 


;^6b         JESUS  SUPS  with  simon  at  bethany. 

turning  to  the  woman,  he  said  to  Simon:  Seest  thou 
this  woman?  I  came  into  thy  hous3,  but  thou  gavest  me 
no  water  for  mj'  foot,  but  she  has  bathed  my  feet  with 
tears,  and  wiped  ihem  with  the  tresses  of  her  hair.  Thou 
gavest  me  no  kiss,  but  she  has  not  ceased,  since  she 
came,  tondly  to  kiss  my  feet.  My  head  thou  hast  not 
anointed  with  oil:  but  she  has  anointed  my  feet  with  per- 
fumes. Wherefore,  I  say  to  3"ou:  Her  sins  which  have 
been  many,  are  forgiven,  therefore,  her  love  is  great;  but 
he  to  whom  little  has  been  forgiven,  has  but  little  love. 
Then  he  said  to  her,  thy  sins  are  forgiven.  Thy  faith 
has  saved  thee;  go  in  peace.  But  the  guests  began  to 
say,  within  themselves:  Who  is  this  that  forgives  sins? 
And  some  of  his  disciples  were  expressing  their  indig- 
nation at  her,  saying  within  themselves:  For  what  pur- 
pose has  this  waste  of  the  balsam  been  made.'^  Then  said 
one  of  his  disciples,  Judas  Iscariot,  son  of  Simon,  who 


Simon,  whom  Luke  calls   a   Pharisee,    and  Matthew  and  Mark  a 
Leper;  and  to  this,  none  of  the  others  disagree. 

4  All  the  Evangelists  agree  that  the  woman  brought  an  alabaster 
box  of  costly  ointment,  which  she  brake  and  poured  on  Jesus. 

5  Miirk  and  John  use  the  phrase,  va^Jo;  ms-wri,  as  the  name  of  the 
ointment,  which  phrase  occurs  no  where  else,  in  all  the  Greek 
scriptures. 

6  John  and  Luke  declare  that  this  same  woman  whom  John  calls 
Mary,  sister  of  Lazarus  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  wiped  them 
with  her  hair:  none  ofthe  others  disagree. 

7  Whilst  John  expressly  calls  the  woman  Mary,  the  sister  of 
Lazarus,  Ltike  represents  the  host  as  objecting  to  her  character  as 
a  sinner,  and  Jesus  admitting  and  apologizing:  The  other  Evange- 
lists say  nothing  to  the  contrary. 

8.  Bv  carefully  comparing  the  several  passages,  where  the  dif- 
ferent Marys  are  mentioned,  we  shall  find,  that  instead  of  four, 
Mary  mother  of  our  Lord,  Mary  wife  ofCleophas,  Mary  sister  of 
Lazarus,  and  Mary  Magdalene,  there  were  only  two  Marys;  the 
one  the  mother  of  Jesus,  the  other  Magdalene.  Compare  Matthew 
27.  56,  and  John  19.  25,  also  l>r  A.  Clarke's  notes  on  these  pass- 
ages, and  what  I  have  said  concerning  the  family  of  Joseph,  Section 
Twenty-fifth,  p.  95.  Both  Lightfoot  and  Baronius  maintain  that 
Mary,  sister  of  Lazarus,  and  Mary  Magdalene,  were  the  same 
person. 


JESUS  SUPS  WITH  SIMON  AT  BETHANif.  367 

was  about  to  betray  him:  Why  was  not  this  balsam  sold 
for  three  hundred  denaries,  and  given  to  the  poor?  This 
he  said,  not  because  he  cared  for  the  poor;  but  because 
he  kept  the  purse,  and  being  a  thiet  he  carried  off  what 
was  put  therein.  But  Jesus  said:  Let  her  alone. 
Why  vex  ye  the  woman;  she  has  done  a  good  work  on 
me.  For  ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you,  and  when- 
ever ye  please,  ye  may  do  them  good,  but  me  ye  have 
not  always.  For  in  keeping  this  balsam  for  my  burial, 
she  has  done  what  she  could,  by  coming  aforehand  to 
pour  this  balsam  on  my  body  for  its  embalmment. 
Wherefore  I  assure  you;  wheresoever  this  gospel  shall 
be  preached  throughout  the  world,  what  this  woman  has 
done  shall  be  told  as  a  memorial  of  her. 

9.  Malthevv,  Mark,  and  John  say  the  anointing  happened  at 
Bethany,  the  week  before  Christ  suffered;  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose,  that  the  ointment  or  balsam  was  that  which  had  been  pro- 
cured for  Lazarus  and  reserved  by  Mary,  till  hearing  from  Jesus 
that  he  should  be  put  to  death  at  Jerusalem,  she  anointed  his  body 
against  his  burial,  and  wept  in  expression  of  gratitude  for  the  mira- 
cle Jesus  had  wrought  for  her  brother,  and  in  sympathy  for  his  suf- 
ferings which  he  was  about  to  undergo  at  Jerusalem,  in  a  few  days. 

10  The  reason  why  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  do  not  mention 
Lazarus,  nor  his  sister,  is  because  they  were  both  alive  when  they 
wrote,  and  knowing  the  decree  of  the  Piiarisees  to  put  Lazarus  to 
death,  they  refrained  from  making  any  allusion  to  the  affairs  of  that 
family. 

Those  who  may  be  desirous  of  seeing  this  subject  discussed  at 
length,  may  consult  Newcoroe's  Harmony,  Section  120,  notes;  aa 
abstract  of  which  may  be  found  in  Clarke's  Commentary  on  Matt. 
26th  chap.  But  there  is  a  much  more  accurate  dissertation  in 
Townsend's  New  Testament,  chronoiogicilly  arranged,  vol.  1.  p. 
375.  Pilkington  has  also  given  a  dissertation  of  some  length,  in  his 
Harmony  on  the  anointing.     Lightfoot  should  also  be  consulted. 


SECTION  ONE   HUNDRED  AND   THIRD. 

Christ's  triumphant  entrf  into  Jerusalem. 

Now  when  the  Jews  Vnnw,  that  Jesus  was  at  Bethany, 
they  came  in  great  numbcis;  not  because'  of  Jesus  only, 


368     Christ's  triumphant  entry  into  Jerusalem. 

but  that  tbey  might  see  Lazarus,  whom  he  had  raised 
from  the  dead.  The  next  day,  as  they  approached  Jeru- 
salem, being  at  the  mount  of  Olives,  near  .Bethphage* 
and  Bethany,  he  sent  two  of  his  disciples,  saying  to  tliem* 
Go  into  the  village  opposite  to  you,  and  as  ye  enter,  ye 
shall  find  an  ass  tied,  and  a  colt  on  which  no  man  has 
ever  rode,  loose  it,  and  bririg  it  to  me.  And  should  any 
one  say  to  you:  Why  loose  ye  the  colt?  say  to  him: 
The  Master,  has  need  of  it;  and  he  will  immediately 
send  it.  Then  they,  who  were  sent,  went,  and  found  a 
colt  tied  at  a  door,  in  a  place  where  two  ways  met.  And 
as  they  were  loosing  it,  the  owners  said:  Why  do  ye 
loose  the  colt.'*  They  replied  as  Jesus  had  command- 
ed them:  The  Master  has  need  of  it.  So  they 
let  them  go.  And  they  brought  the  colt  to  Jesus,  and 
having  put  their  mantles  on  it,  tiiey  placed  Jesus  thereon. 
Now  all  this  came  to  pass  so  as  to  fulfil  the  predic- 
tionf  of  the  prophet,  which  says:  Tell  ye  the  daughter 


*  Bethphage  signifies  the  house  or  region  of  Jigs.  The  town  was 
situated  on  the  declivity  of  the  i^Jount  of  Olives,  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  Jerusalem.  The  pl.ice  where  our  Lord  was  at  this  time, 
lay  between  Bethany  and  Jerusalem,  on  his  journey  to  the  latter. 

t  This  prediction  of  Zechariah,  four  hundred  years  before  the 
event,  announced  to  the  people  of  Israel,  that  the  king  of  Jerusalem, 
contrary  to  the  universal  custom  of  his  own,  and  of  every  other  na- 
tion, should  enter  his  royal  city,  without  any  outward  pomp  and 
splendour — that  he  should  ride  upon  the  humblest  of  animals — 
Himself  the  meekest  and  lowliest  of  men,  yet  the  Saviour  of  his 
people,  and,  as  such,  be  received  by  them  with  the  loudest  rejoic- 
ings and  acclamations  We  are  assured  by  the  Prophet  Mala- 
chi  also,  that  the  Messiah  should  certainly  visit  the  second  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  Let  me  therefore,  appeal  to  the  Jew  who  receives 
the  Old  Testament,  and  entreat  him  to  search  the  records  of  the  his- 
tory of  his  fathers,  and  there  find  if  any  Prophet,  Priest,  or  King, 
or  Ruler  of  Israel  before  the  destruction  of  the  second  temple,  ever 
entered  into  Jerusalem,  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  here  represented  to 
have  done;  and  which  of  all  these  rulers  of  Israel  united  so  many 
of  their  ancient  prophecies  in  his  own  person.  Of  all  the  long  train 
of  Jewish  rulers,  to  whom  can  we  apply  the  prophecy  of  Zecha- 
riah.and  assert  that  he  rode  into  Jerusalem  humble,  royal,  and  a 
Paviour,  visiting  and  appearing  in  their  temple.     Ezra  was  in  their 


Christ's  triumphant  entry  into  Jerusalem.    369 

of  Sion:  Fear  not!  Behold!  thy  King  comes  to  thee, 
meek,  and  riding  on  an  ass,  even  a  coit,  the  foal  of  an 
ass.  But  these  things  the  disciples  did  not  understand, 
at  that  time,  but  after  Jesus  was  glorified,  then  they>e- 
membered,  that  these  sayings  had  been  written  concern- 
ing him,  and  had  been  accomplished  by  them  for  him. 

Now  as  the  multitude,  which  was  with  Jesus  when 
he  called  Lazarus  out  of  tho  tomb,  was  continually  tes- 
tifying, that  he  raised  him  from  the  dead,  a  great  multi- 


city  when  the  prophecy  was  rlelivered.  Nehemiah  went  up  to  Je- 
rusaleno,  attended  by  the  captiins  and  cavalry  of  the  kins;  of  Persia, 
Nehem.  ii.  9.  When  he  arose  privately  in  the  night,  he  was  ac- 
companied by  few  only  of  his  train,  and  though  he  rode,  it  was  not 
in  the  manner  described  b)  the  prophet. 

If  we  look  to  the  history  of  the  Maccabean  family,  we  may  still 
proceed  in  vain  to  find  one  among  them  whose  characteristics,  as  a 
leader  of  Israel,  correspond  with  this  prediction  of  the  prophet. 
Mattathias  excited  the  people  to  resistance  in  defence  of  their  reli- 
gion. Judas  entered  into  Jerusalem  in  triumph,  purified  the  tem- 
ple, and  dedicated  it  again  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah;  as  a  religious 
and  devout  man,  he  perhaps  might  be  called  meek  and  humble,  but 
where  is  it  recorded  that  he  entered  into  Jerusalem  sitting  upon  a 
colt,  the  foal  of  an  a?s? 

We  are  now  brought  to  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  the  cotempo- 
rary  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  tributary  dependent  on  Rome,  the 
fierce,  implacable,  and  haughty  murderer  ot  his  wife,  his  people, 
and  his  children?  Is  this  the  portrait  of  the  expected  king  of  [s- 
rael?  Was  the  destroyer  of  Mariamme,  the  flatterer  of  Augustus, 
was  he  the  meek  and  humble  Saviour,  who  was  to  ride  into  the  city 
among  the  acclamations  ot  the  people?  Was  Herod  the  king,  who 
died  amidst  the  deep  and  indignant  curses  of  a  suffering  people — 
was  he  who  was  smitten  of  God — hateful  to  his  own  family — and  ab- 
horred by  his  subjects — was  this  the  king  for  whom  Zion  was  to  re- 
joice, and  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem  to  be  glad?  Surely  neither 
this  man,  nor  his  tyrannical  son,  nor  his  family  of  tetrarchs,  nor  the 
corrupt  and  sanguinary  governors  from  imperial  Rome,  can  appear 
as  candidates  for  the  title  of  the  true  King  of  Israel.  None  but  Je- 
sus of  Nazareth,  the  Prophet  of  Galilee,  who  worked  miracles,  who 
fulfilled  every  prophecy,  who  was  so  jtoor  that  he  had  not  where  to 
lay  his  head;  so  humble,  that  he  washed  the  feet  of  his  disciples, 
whom  the  people  more  than  once  endeavoured  to  make  their  king; 
and  who  was  now  received  among  them  with  acclamations  and  Ho- 
sannas.     None  but  He  accomplished  this  prediction  of  Zecharias, 


370    Christ's  triumphant  entry  into  Jerusalem. 

tude,  who  had  heard  that  he  had  done  this  miracle,  went 
to  meet  him.  Likewise  a  great  nriiiltitude  of  those,  who 
had  come  to  the  festival,  hearing  that  Jesus  was  coming 
to'^'ards  Jernsfilom,  took  branches  of  palm  trees,  and 
weatout  to  meet  him.  And  as  they  went,  some  spread 
their  garments*  in  the  way,  others  cut  down  branches  of 
trees,  and  shewed  them  in  the  way.  And  being  now 
nigh  e'CJi  at  the  descent  of  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  dis- 
ciples and  t'ie  raultitudes,  who  went  before,  as  well  as 
those  whx>  allowed,  be^an  to  rejoice  and  praise  Goa  in 
loud  acclamjitions,  for  all  the  miracles  which  th?y  had 
seen,  saymg:  Hosannah!  Blessed  be  the  King  of  Is»"iel, 
who  conjes  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Blessed  be  the 
reign  of  our  father  David.  Peace  in  Heaven  and  hosan- 
nah in  the  highest. 


ans^l  entered  into  Jerusalem,  just  and  having  salvation;  lowly,  and 
riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass? 

Brethren  of  Israel,  you  acknowledge  the  miracles  of  Christ,  al- 
though yon  impute  them  to  magic.  Your  fathers  bore  witness  to 
his  blameless  life,  and  to  the  union  in  his  person  of  many  of  the  cha- 
racteristics of  your  expected  Messiah.  Whenever  your  promised 
Shiloh  shall  appear,,  he  must  manifest  himself  in  the  s;uTie  manner 
as  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  already  done — He  must  appear  in  the  se- 
cond temple,  and  accomplish  in  his  own  person  all  the  predictions 
of  your  ancient  prophets.  That  this  prophecy  of  Zechariah  rela- 
ted to  the  King  Messiah,  you  are  presented  with  proofs,  not  from 
the  writings  of  the  Evangelists,  whom  we  indeed  believe,  like  your 
ancient  prophets,  to  be  luspired,  but  from  the  writings  of  your  own 
Talmudists.  For  of  none  other  can  it  be  said,  out  of  all  the  rulers 
or  conquerers  of  Jerusalem,  from  the  building  of  the  second  tem- 
ple after  the  Babylonian  captivity,  to  its  overthrow  by  Titus;  of 
none  other  can  it  be  said,  that  he  entered  into  the  holy  city,  riding 
upon  an  ass,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  and  the  Ho- 
sannas  of  the  children. 

*  These  were  the  various  ceremonies  and  rejoicing  of  many  of 
the  Jews  on  the  acknowledgment  ot  the  Messiah  as  their  king. 
That  the  spreading  of  their  garments  was  usual  on  this  occasion, 
appears  from  2  Kings  ix.  13.  Then  they  hasted  and  took  every  man 
his  garment,  and  put  it  under  Jehu  at  the  top  of  the  stairs,  and  blew 
with  trumpets,  saying,  Jehu  is  king.  The  strewing  of  flowers 
and  branches  were  not  uncommonly  used  before  great  men  of  the 
east.     The  word  Hosanna,  signifying,  "Save,  I  beseech  thee,"  was 


•HRISt's  TRIUMPHAN  ENTRV  into  JERUSALEM.       371 

But  some  of  the  Pharisees,  who  were  in  the  multi- 
tude, said  to  Jesus:  Teacher,  rebuke  thy  disciples.  He 
replied:  I  assure  you,  if  these  should  be  silent,  the 
stones*  would  cry  aloud  immediately.  Therefore  the 
Pharisees  said  among  themselves:  Perceive  ye  not  how 
little  ye  avail!  See,  the  world  is  gone  after  him! 

And  as  he  drew  nigh,  viewing  the  city,  he  weptf  over 
it,  saying:  Oh!  didst  thou  know — even  thou — even  on 
this  very  day,  the  things  which  concern  thy  peace!  But 
now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes!  For  days  will  come 
on  thee,  when  thine  enemies  will  cast  a  trench  around 
thee,  and  inclosej  thee  on  every  side;  and  dash  thee 
on  the  ground,  and  thy  children  in  the  midst  of  thee; 
and  not  leave  one  stone  on  another,  because  thou  know- 
est  not  this  season  of  thy  visitation. 


a  form  of  acclamation  taken  from  Ps.  118.  25,  and  used  by  the  Jews 
at  their  feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  on  any  great  or  imusual  occasion  of 
rejoicing,  1  Maccab.  xiii.  51.  By  these  ceremonies,  the  people 
acknowledged  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah  or  Shiloh,  whom  they  ex- 
pected, "He  that  cometh,  or  was  sent  of  God;"  thus  also  completing 
the  prophecy  ol  Zechariah.     See  Zecli.  ix.  9,  and  Matt.  xxi.  5. 

*  So  important  are  the  present  transactions  to  the  accomplishment 
of  the  prophecy,  Zech.  9.  9,  and  to  the  public  attestation  of  my  ad- 
vent as  the  Messiah,  that  should  the  multitude  be  silent,  God  would 
put  a  tongue  in  each  of  these  stones  to  cry  aloud.  Grotius  thinks 
the  expression  was  used  proverbially  to  denote  the  moral  impossi- 
bility that  Christ's  kingdom  should  not  be  acknowledged  by  some. 

t  This  circumstance  shews  in  a  most  striking  light,  the  sensibility 
of  the  mind  of  Jesus,  his  feeling  and  affectionate  disposition  He 
was  not  content  with  forwarning  his  countrymen  of  their  certain 
ruin,  if  they  should  continue  in  their  course  of  disobedience  to 
God  and  his  prophets,  but  he  was  moved  even  to  shed  tears  on  the 
view  of  the  approaching  miseries  of  his  enemies.  So  far  was  he 
from  indulging  a  spirit  of  revenge,  that  he  expresses  the  strongest 
regret,  that  they  had  not  been  more  wise  for  themselves,  and  that 
his  good  will  to  them  could  avail  them  nothing. 

J  At  the  time  that  this  prophecy  was  delivered,  it  was  no  more 
probable  that  the  city  of  Jerusaleni  would  be  subject  to  those  dread- 
ful calamities  which  Jesus  here  predicts,  than  any  other  city  in  the 
Roman  empire.  "Yet  he  not  only  foretells  the  certain  destruction  of 
it,  but  the  very  manner  in  which  it  should  be  accomplished,  their 
enemies  casting  a  trench  about  it^  and  compassing  it  on  every  side, 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FOURTH. 

Jesus  cleanses  the  Temple. 

When  Jesus  entered  Jerusalem,  the  whole  city  was 
in  uproar,  saying:  Who  is  this?  And  the  multitude 
answered:  This  is  Jesus  the  Prophet,  who  is  of  Naza- 
reth in  Galilee. 

And  Jesus  went  into  the  temple,  and  looking  around 
on  all  thing,  he  found  in  the  temple*  persons  selling 


to  prevent  all    ingress  or  egress,  which  was  actuary  effected  by  a 
wall  of  circnmvallalion,  in  the  course  of  the  siege  by  Titus. 

We  are  informed  b_y  Josephus,  that  a  stranger  was  not  allowed 
to  pass  into  the  holy  place:  that  is,  into  the  second  court  of  the 
temple,  where  the  Jews  and  circumcised  proselytes,  when  not  le- 
gally unclean,  were  admitted.  The  third  court  was  without  the 
sacred  limits,  and  divided  from  the  other  by  little  pillars,  or  co- 
lumns, with  this  inscription — Mn'^~v  a,\x6'Pv\0¥  Ivtoj  xa"  Ayla  7r«p»£'y«», 
and  the  reason  is  assigned,  to  ya^  Jeutejov  ispovAywn  IxaX  Tto.  This 
part  of  the  temple  was  intended  for  tlie  Je^vs  who  were  unclean, 
and  the  devout  gentdes,  the  Proselytes  of  the  Gate.  Although 
the  Jews  held  the  Gentiles  in  the  greatest  contempt,  stigmatizing 
them  with  the  opprobious  epithet  of  "dogs,"  refusing  all  inter- 
course or  familiarity  with  them,  still  we  find  them  so  incoiisisteut 
as  to  suffer  them  to  carry  on,  even  in  the  very  preci  icts  of  their 
temple,  in  the  couits  appointed  for  the  Geniiles,  a  traffic  in  oxen, 
sheep,  and  doves,  which  were  required  by  the  worshippers,  for 
their  sacrifices  and  purifications.  In  every  age  of  the  Jewish 
Church,  niiiny  proselytes  ot  the  Gate  united  themselves  to  the 
congregation  of  Israel:  but  in  consequence  of  the  constant  mer- 
chandise going  on,  which  must  be  attributed  to  the  negligence 
of  the  governors  of  the  temple,  the  devout  Gentiles  were  at  all 
times  disturbed  in  their  devotions;  and  at  the  greater  festivals 
must  hi;ve  been  nearly  or  altogether  excluded  from  the  place  of 
•wor^hip.  It  was  worthy  then  of  the  Messiah,  to  conclude  his 
public  ministry,  by  cleansing  the  temple,  by  driving  from  it  the 
profane  and  worldly;  an  action  by  which  he  declared  himself  at 
once  the  Lord  of  the  temple,  and  the  protector  of  all  those  from 
among  the  mass  of  mankind,  who  sought  him  in  the  way  he  had 
appointed.  It  was  impossible  that  the  composure  of  spirit,  and 
serenity  of  mind,  which  are  necessary  to  the  duty  of  prayer, 
could  have  been  preserved  among  the  loud  talking  and  dis- 
puting of  buyers  and  sellers,  the  jingling  of  money,  the  lowing 
of  oxen  and  the  bleating  of  sheep.     Yet  it  was  among  these  only 


JESUS  CLEANSES  THE  TEMPLE.         378 

cattle,  sheep,  and  pigeons;  and  money  changers  sitting. 
Then  having  made  a  scourge  of  cords,  he  began  to 
drive  thence  all  that  sold  and  bought  in  the  temple, 
with  their  sheep  and  oxen ;  and  overturned  the  tables  of 
the  money-changers,  and  the  stalls  of  those  v^ho  sold 
doves,  saying:  Take  these  things  hence.  Make  not  my 
Father's  house  a  place  of  traffic.  It  is  written:  My 
House  shall  be  called  a  House  of  prayer  for  all  nations, 
but  ye  have  made  it  a  den*  of  robbers.  And  he  would 
not  suflfer  any  one  to  carry  any  vessel  through  the  tem- 
ple. Then  the  disciples  remembered  that  it  was  writ- 
ten: The  zeal  of  thy  house  consumes  me. 


that  the  Gentile  worshippers  could  find  admission.  Our  Lord^s 
motive,  in  the  second  instance,  for  thus  cleansing  the  temple,  is 
given  by  Mark,  11.  17,  which  passage,  says  the  learned  Mr. 
Mede,  ought  to  be  translated — My  house  shall  be  called  a  house 
of  prayer  to,  or  for  all  nations — 7r«c7»  toT?  e&veo-j.  Though  the 
Jewish  dispensation  was  not  yet  completed,  the  dawning  of  the 
new  dispensation  had  begun.  It  is  in  the  plans  of  Providence, 
as  it  is  in  the  works  of  creation.  The  God  of  nature  is  the  God 
of  revelation.  As  in  nature  the  seasons  so  beautifully  and  so 
gradually  blend  with  each  other,  as  the  closing  day  insensibly 
changes  into  night,  or  the  darkness  of  the  night  slowly  gives  place 
to  the  dawn  of  the  morning,  and  the  splendours  of  the  rising  sun, 
so  do  the  various  dispensations  of  an  over-ruling  and  wise  Provi- 
dence, gradually  and  slowly  accomplish  his  own  prophecies,  ap- 
pealing to  our  reason,  as  the  visible  creation  appeals  to  our  senses. 
This  action  of  our  Lord  was  a  visible  and  open  manifestation  of 
his  claim  to  the  character  of  the  Messiah;  and  it  was  the  most 
significant  proof  that  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  must  be  purified 
or  overthrown,  and  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  admitted  into  the 
Church  of  God  his  Father. 

*  According  to  Matt.  21. 13,  when  our  Saviour  drove  the  buyers 
and  sellers  out  of  the  temple,  he  said  to  them:  It  is  written,  my 
house  shall  be  called  an  house,  not  the  house,  of  prayer,  but  ye 
have  made  it  a  den  of  thievesj  or,  if  it  be  read  with  an  interro- 
gation. And  have  ye  made  it  a  den  of  thieves?  Y/^h;  ^e  ai^rov  irok- 
5iVaT£  snHAAiON  AHITaN,  then  the  indignation  will  be  increased, 
from  the  opposition  between  God  and  ye.  The  same  is  related  by 
Mark  11.  17,  with  the  same  two  words,  o-x-ziXchoy  ^.mruv,  and  so  by 
Luke  19.  46.  It  may  be  asked,  why  the  temple  should  be  said 
by  our  Saviour  to  be  made  c77rnx»»&v  Avirw',  a  cave  of  robbers;  was  it 

48 


374        J£SUS  CLEANSES  THE  TEMPLE. 

Then  the  blind  and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  he  healed  them.  But  when  the  chief  priests 
and  the  scribes,  saw  the  wonders  which  he  performed, 
and  the  children  crying  in  the  temple:  Hosanna  to  the 
Son  of  David,  they  were  filled  with  indignation,  and 
said:  Hearest  thou  what  these  say?  Jesus  replied:  Yes. 
Ha?e  ye  never  read:  From  the  mouths  of  infants  and 
babes,  thou  hast  prepared  praises.'*  Then  they  said  to 
him:  By  what  sign  doest  thou  show  us  thine  authority, 
for  doing  these  things,-*  Jesus  answering,  said  to  them: 
Destroy  this  temple  and  in  three  days,  I  will  raise  it 
again.    The  Jews  replied:    Forty-six*   years  has  this 


because  there  were  some  wlio  bought  and  sold  in  it?  or  because 
the  money  changers,  or  those  who  sold  doves,  sat  there?  None  of 
these  persons  could  be  called  x-nrxl,  latrones  or  public  robbers: 
nor  did  their  business  lie  in  aTcnXuKx,,  speluncae,dens  er  caves,  se 
as  to  cause  the  temple,  in  which  they  were,  to  be  called  crTrnXowov, 
John,  however,  in  his  account  of  this  matter,  mentions  a  circum- 
stance, without  the  knowledge  of  which,  the  reason  of  this  ex* 
pression,  o-T^iXajov  x>irc"V  in  the  other  three  Evanglists,  and  in  Jer. 
7.  11,  whence  it  is  taken,  could  not  have  been  understood,  and 
very  probably  that  is  the  reason  why  it  is  mentioned  by  him,  chap. 
2.  14, 15,  and  Jesus  found  in  the  temple  those  who  sold  oxen  and 
sheep,  and  doves,  and  when  he  had  made  a  scourge  of  small  cords, 
he  drove  them  all  out  of  the  temple,  and  the  sheep  and  the  oxen. 
Now  it  is  well  known,  to  those  who  are  moderately  versed  in  an- 
tiquity, that  the  Xjio-rat  were  wont  to  bring  into  their  (77r*iXat«,  or 
caves  in  the  rocks,  the  oxen  and  sheep  which  they  had  stolen. 
Such  an  one  was  Cacus  in  Virgil,  ^neid.  viii.  193,  who  stole 
Hercules'  oxen, 

Hie  spehinca  fuit  vasto  submota  recessu. 
*This  notation  of  time  has  been  considered  of  great  importance 
to  the  Chronology  of  the  New  Testament,  and  the  true  time  of 
Christ's  ministry.  Josephus  informs  us,  that  Herod  began  the  re- 
building, or  rather  the  repairing  of  the  temple  in  the  Eighteenth 
year  of  his  reign,  reckoned  from  the  death  of  Antigonus  and  cap- 
ture of  Jerusalem,  which  happened,  according  to  the  same  au- 
thority, on  the  third  month  of  the  third  year  of  the  185lh  Olym- 
piad, Agrippa  and  Gallis  being  Consuls  at  Rome.  The  decree 
lor  making  Herod  king,  pased  the  Roman  Senate  in  the  end  of 
the  year  713  U.  C.  according  to  Flaccus,  but  7)4^  according  to 
Varro:  and  according  to  Josephus,  Antiq.  B.  14.  26,  in  the  184th 
Olympiad,  when  Calvinus  and  PoUio  were  Consuls.    Add  to  this 


JESUS  CLEANSES  THE  TEMPLE.  375 

lemple  been  in  building,  and  couldst  thou  raise  it  in 
three  days?  By  the  temple,  he  represented  his  body. 
When,  therefore,  he  was  raised  from  the  dead,  his  dis- 
ciples remembered  that  he  had  said  this,  and  then  they 
understood  the  scripture,  and  the  words  which  Jesus 
bad  spoken. 

Now  the  chief  priests,  and  scribes,  and  elders  sought 
his  destruction,  but  could  not  devise  how  they  might 
effect  this;  for  they  feared,  because  all  the  people  were 
very  attentive  to  hear  him,  and  were  amazed  at  his  doc- 
trine. So  he  taught  in  the  temple  during  the  day,  and 
leaving  them  in  the  evening,  he  went  o-ut  of  the  city, 
with  the  twelve  to  Bethany,  where  he  remained  that 
night. 


three  years  of  Herod's  reign,  before  the  capture  of  the  city,  and 
eighteen  years  after  the  capture  when  he  began  to  build  the  tem- 
ple, and  forty-six  years,  which  the  Jews  here  declare  had  expired 
since  the  latter  event,  and  we  shall  have  714+3  +  18-f46=7'8l. 
Now  the  year  of  Rome  began  in  the  month  of  April,  and  the 
78l9t  year  U.  C.  ended  at  the  Jewish  Passover,  in  the  sixteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  being  the  first  Passover  succeeding 
the  Consulship  of  the  Gemini,  when  accorditig  to  all  antiquity 
our  Lord  was  crucified:  and  when  according  to  the  date  assigned 
to  his  birth,  in  Section  Second,  p.  19 — 21,  our  Lord  could  be 
only  Thirty-one  years  of  age:  consequently  his  public  ministry 
lasted  only  one  year,  being  the  Tiventy -ninth  of  the  vulgar 
Christian  Era.  For  though  he  commenced  his  ministry  about  tnc 
time  of  the  Dedication,  in  his  Thirtieth  year,  yet,  owiag  to  the 
opposition  of  the  Jews,  he  almost  entirely  concluded  his  ministry 
at  the  next  feast  of  Dedication,  remaining  one  month  in  ob- 
scurity at  Bethabara,  and  two  at  Ephraim  in  the  wilderness  near 
Bethel. 


SECTION  OxNE  HUx^^DRED  AND  FIFTH.      ; 

Barren  Fig-tree. 

And  the  next  morning,  as  they  retui'ned  to  the  city 
from  Bethany,  he  was  hungry,  and  seeing  a  fig-tree  at  a 


376  BARREN  Fie-TREE. 

distance  by  the  road,  having  leaves,  he  proceeded  to  it, 
expecting  to  find  figs  thereon.  But  when  he  came  to 
it,  he  found  nothing  on  it  but  leaves  only,  for  it  was  not 
the  season*  of  fig-harvest.  Jesus  said  to  it:  Let  no 
fruit  grow  on  thee,  nor  any  man  eat  fruit  of  thee,  any 
more  forever.  And  the  disciples  heard  hira.  And  pre- 
sently, whilst  they  were  passing,  the  fig-tree  withered 
from  the  roots.  Then  Peter  calling  the  attention,  said: 
Master,  lo!  the  fig-tree,  which  thou  hast  cursed,  is  with- 


*  All  commentators  are  agreed  in  considering  this  miracle  as 
typical  of  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  nation.  If  we  regard  this 
fig  tree  as  a  mere  emblem,  or  type,  we  shall  find  a  beautiful  and 
perfect  harmony  throughout  the  whole.  The  religion  of  the  Jews 
had  now  become  merely  external,  it  flourished  only  in  appearance; 
it  possessed  the  leaves,  but  not  the  fruits  of  holiness.  The  fig-tree, 
therefore,  became  the  most  apt  representation  of  the  state  of  the 
Jews  at  that  time,  and  of  their  consequent  destruction,  or  wither- 
ing away.  Had  it  been  the  season  of  figs,  and  the  fruit  already 
gathered,  the  tree  would  not  have  been  so  appropriately  the  object 
of  a  curse,  or  so  expressively  a  type  of  the  Jewish  nation.  In  this, 
as  in  many  other  instances,  our  Saviour  predicted  the  future  by  a 
significant  action  or  sign,  before  he  judged  it  expedient  to  declare  it 
publicly.  The  parable  of  the  fruitless  fig-tree  Luke  xiii.  5,  bear* 
the  same  signification. 

Chrysostom  observes,  in  reference  to  the  question  why  the  fig- 
tree  was  cursed,  that  Christ  wished  to  shew  that  a  punishment 
would  overtake  those  who  crucified  Him;  but  selected  a  tree, 
rather  than  a  man,  as  the  object  on  which  to  display  his  power,  be- 
cause His  was  the  dispensation  of  mercy.  The  choice  of  this  tree, 
corresponds  with  other  parts  of  scripture,  Jer.  xxir.  1.  Luke  xiii. 
6.  Micah  vii    1.  Cant.  viii.  11 — 13. 

The  Palestine  fig-tree,  according  to  Dr.  Hales,  regularly  bears 
two  crops  a  year,  and  occasionally  a  third;  the  boccore,  or  early 
fig,  noticed  by  Isaiah  xxviii.  4,  which  comes  to  perfection  in  the 
middle  or  end  of  June;  then  the  kermez,  or  summer  fig,  begins  to 
be  formed,  though  it  rarely  ripeBS  before  August.  About  the  be- 
ginning of  Autumn  the  same  tree  not  seldom  throws  out  a  third 
crop,  of  a  longer  shape,  and  darker  complexion  than  the  kermez, 
called  the  winter  fig,  which  hangs  upon  the  tree  after  the  leaves  are 
ahed,  and  ripens,  provided  the  winter  proves  mild;  and  is  gathered 
as  a  delicious  morsel  in  spring.  The  natural  history  of  the  fig-tree 
io  Judea,  taken  from  the  accurate  Shaw's  Travels,  p.  276,  happily 
removes  the  ambiguity  in  our  English  Bible,   of  the  parable  of  the 


BARREN   FI«-TREE.  377 

eredl  Jesus  answered:  If  ye  have  mighty  and  unshaken 
faith,  ye  may  not  only  do  what  has  been  done  to  the  fig- 
tree,  but  also  whatever  ye  shall  say,  with  confidence  ia 
its  accomplishment.  And  whatsoever  ye  ask  in  prayer 
•with  belief  that  it  shall  be  done,  it  shall  be  granted. 
He  also  spake  this  parable.  A  man  had  a  fig- tree, 
planted  in  his  vineyard;  and  he  came  to  it  seeking  fruit, 
but  found  none.  Then  he  said  to  the  vine-dresser:  This 
is  the  third  year,*  that  I  have  come,  seeking  fruit  on  this 
fig-tree,  and  found  none.  Cut  it  down.  Why  should 
it  cumber  the  ground?  The  vine-dresser  said:  Master 
suffer  it  also  this  year  till  I  dig  about  it,  and  manure  it; 
and  if,  in  future,  it  bear  not,  thou  mayest  cut  it  down. 


fig-tree,  by  the  parenthesis  judiciously  introrluced  by  Archbishop 
Kewcome.  Jesus  being  hungry,  und  seeing  leaves  thereon,  which 
shewed  that  the  tree  was  alive,  though  it  was  not  a  regular  fig  season, 
either  for  early  or  for  summer  figs;  yet  went  to  it  in  a  reasonable 
expectation  ot'  finding,  perhaps,  some  winter  fruit  thereon;  but 
when  he  came  he  was  disappointed,  for  he  found  nothing  thereon 
but  leaves.  Whereupon  he  doomed  it  to  perpetual  barrenness,  in 
the  hearing  of  his  disciples. 

*  This  has  been  considered  as  a  note  of  time  of  importance  in 
settling  the  chronology  of  our  Lord's  ministry.  From  the  phrase 
three  years,  it  has  been  concluded  that  Christ's  mmistry  must  have 
lasted  so  long,  but  this  is  a  mistake,  arising  from  inattention  to  the 
peculiar  manner  of  calculating  in  such  cases,  among  the  Jews.  I 
have  proceeded  throughout  this  Harmony  on  the  supposition,  that 
our  Lord  appeared  as  a  public  teacher,  during  the  last  year  of  Jubi- 
lee ever  celebrated  by  the  Jews,  in  their  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
This  year  I  believe  was  what  the  prophets  and  apostles  call  the  ac- 
ceptable year  of  the  Lord,  and  answered  to  the  year  781  of  Rome 
the  sixteenth  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  and  the  Tweniy-ninth  of  the 
vulgar  Christian  era.  Supposing  then,  that  our  Lord  had  com- 
menced his  ministry  only  a  iew  weeks  before  the  beginning  of  A.  D. 
29,  and  continued  after  the  end  of  that  year  to  deliver  some  occa- 
sional discourses  to  the  Easter  of  A.  D.  30,  all  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  manner  in  which  the  time  from  his  death  to  his  resurrec- 
tion is  computed  three  days,  will  be  satisfied,  that  Christ's  public 
ministry  may  be  called  three  years,  though  in  fact  it  did  not  exceed 
sixteen  months.  A  preleptical  method  of  calculating  prevailed 
among  the  Jews  and  Romans.  If  any  event  took  place  in  the  course 
of  a  year,  though  within  a  few  weeks,  or  even  days  of  the  end  there- 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTH, 

Discourse  with  the  Chief  Priests. 

And  after  he  arrived  in  the  temple,  when  he  was  teach- 
ing the  people  and  proclaiming  the  glad  tidings,  the 
Chief  Priests,  Scribes,  and  Elders  of  the  people  came  to 
him,  saying:  Tell  us  by  what  authority  thou  art  perform- 
ing these  things,  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority? 
Jesus  answered:  I  will  also  ask  you  one  question,  which 
if  ye  answer  to  me,  I  will  likewise  tell  you,  by  what  au- 
thority I  am  doing  these  things.  Whence  did  John  re- 
ceive authority  to  baptize?*  From  Heaven,  or  from 
men.**  Then  they  reasoned  thus  among  themselves: 
Sl)ould  we  say:  From  Heaven,  he  will  reply:  Why  then 
did  ye  not  believe  him.''  But  if  we  say:  From  men,  we 
fear  all  the  people  will  s*one  us;  for  they  are  all  per- 
suaded that  John  was  a  prophet.  So  they  answering, 
said  to  Jesus:  We  cannot  tell.  Jesus  replied:  Neither 
will  I  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  do  these  things.  But 
what  think  ye  of  this?  A  man  having  two  sons,  ad- 
dressed the  older,  saying:  Son,  go  work  to-day  in  my 
vineyard.  He  answered:  I  will  not;  but  afterwards  he 
repented  and  went.  Then  addressing  the  younger,  he 
spake  to  him  in  like  manner.     But  he  replied:  I  go,  Sir, 


ef,  after  the  commencement  of  the  next  year,  the  duration  of  time 
was  called  two  years,  or  the  second  year.  Thas  our  Lord  being 
born  on  the  25ih  of  December,  would  be  called'  two  years  old  be- 
fore the  conclusion  of  his  second  month.  According  to  the  common 
reckoning,  there  were  only  eight  days  in  the  tirst  year  of  the  Chris* 
tian  Eia.  These  parts  of  years  were  sometimes  called  by  the  Jews« 
Hie  son  of  a  year,  1  Sam.  13.  1.  Marg. 

*Our  Lord  in  this  question  retous  on  these  unprincipled  men 
their  own  captious  method  of  askmg  dangerous  questions.  If  the 
Priests  acknowledged  the  divine  origin  of  John's  Baptism,  they 
would  be  under  the  necessity  of  acknowledging  the  divine  authority 
of  Christ's  mission;  for  John  bare  testimony  to  Jesus.  If  they  de- 
nied, they  exposed  themselves  to  the  contempt  and  insult  of  the  peo- 
ple who  generally  believed  John  to^have  been  a  true  prophet. 


DISCOURSE  WITH  THE  CHIEF  PRIESTS.  S79 

yet  he  went  not.  Now  which  of  these  two  obeyed  the 
Father?  They  answered:  The  first.  Jesus  said  to  thenar 
Verily  I  assure  you,  the  tax-gatherers*  and  prostitutes 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you.  For  J  )hii  came 
to  you  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  and  ye  believed  him 
not;  but  the  tax-gatherers  and  prostitutes  believed  him: 
and  though  ye  saw  this,  ye  did  not  afterwards  repent  and 
believe  him. 


*  In  this  comparison  Christ  gave  the  same  offence  to  the  Priests 
and  Pharisees,  that  true  Evangelical  Ministers  give  to  the  Pharisaic 
tnorahsts  of  all  ages.  They  cannot  imagine  that  they  require  the 
same  assistance  from  religion  which  the  wicked,  profane,  and  un- 
godly must  need;  and  therefore  they  conceive  it  to  partake  of  the 
nature  of  insult,  to  press  on  their  attention  the  necessity  of  fervency 
and  zeal  in  working  out  their  own  salvation,  or  striving  to  make  their 
calling  and  election  sure.  But  out  of  all  the  good  natured,  inoffen- 
sive, decorous,  and  moral  people,  perhaps  very  few  shall  ever  see 
or  enter  the  kingdom  of  God:  because  they  are  generally  insensi- 
ble of  their  spiritual  disease,  and  suffer  the  day  of  salvation  to  pass 
unnoticed.  Great  God!  how  many  there  are,  who  profess  but  en- 
joy not  thy  holy  religion.  This  parable  is  a  pungent  reproach  to 
all  those  who  have  the  form,  but  deny  the  power  of  godliness. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SEVENTH. 

Parable  of  the  Vineyard. 

Then  he  addressed  the  people,  saying:  Hear  another 
parable.  A  landlord  planted  a  vineyard,  and  put  a  fence 
around,  and  digged*  a  wine  press  in  it,  and  built  a  tow- 
er, and  having  let  it  to  husbandmen,  he  went  into  a  distant 
country.  And  when  the  season  of  vintage  approached, 
he  sent  his  servants  to  the  husbandmen  to   receive  the 


*  Chardin  found  wine  presses  in  Persia,  which  were  hollow 
places  in  the  ground,  lined  with  stone  work.  It  is  also  customary 
in  the  East  to  build  towers  in  gardens  and  vineyards.  See  Harmer's 
Observations. 


^SQ  PARABLE  OP   THE  VINEYARD. 

fruits*  of  the  vineyard.  But  they  caught  one  and  beat 
him,  and  sent  him  away  empty.  Again  he  sent  another 
servant,  and  at  him  they  cast  stones  and  wounded  him, 
and  having  shamefully  treated  him,  they  sent  him  away 
empty  And  again  he  sent  a  third,  and  they  wounded 
him,  cast  him  out,  and  killed  him.  Again  he  sent  other 
servants  in  greater  number,  but  they  treated  them  in  like 
manner,  beating  some  and  killing  some. 

Then  the  owner  of  the  vineyard  said:  What  shall  I 
do.''  Having  yet  an  only  and  well-beloved  Son,  I  will 
send  him  to  them,  perhaps  on  seeing  ray  Son  they  will 
reverence  him.  But  as  soon  as  the  husbandmen  saw 
the  Son,  they  reasoned  among  themselves  saying:  This 
is  the  heir,  come  let  us  kill  him,  and  the  inheritance 
will  be  our  own.f  So  tWey  caught  him,  killed  him,  and 
cast  him  out  of  the  vinejard.  When  therefore  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  vineyard  comes,  what  will  he  do  to  these 
husbandmen.  Some  said:  He  will  put  those  wretches 
to  a  miserable  death,  and  let  the  vineyard  to  others, 
who  will  render  him  the  fruits  in  their  seasou.  But 
others  of  the  hearers  said:  God  forbid. J 


*  It  was  an  ancient  custom  to  pay  the  rent  of  a  farm  in  kind  by 
giving  a  part  of  the  produce. 

t  What  infatuation!  Men  would  be  independent  of  God  and  yet 
they  hve  on  his  bounty.  How  often  it  occurs  that  wicked  and  sen- 
sual men  are  enraged  at  those  who  expostulate  with  them  about  the 
duties  they  owe  to  God.^ 

I  It  appears  that  many  of  our  Lord's  hearers  understood  the  para«- 
ble,  and  its  application.  It  is  taken  from  Isaiah  5.  1 ,  and  partially 
explained  by  the  prophet:  the  import  is  plain  and  striking.  The 
Landlord  is  God.  The  vineyard — the  Church.  The  tower — Jerusa- 
lem. The  fence — revealed  religion  or  God's  providence.  The 
wine-press — the  Temple.  The  fruit — religious  worship  and  acts 
of  righteousness.  Husbandmen — Priests  and  ministers  of  religion. 
Going  into  a  far  country  implies  the  trust  committed  to  ministers 
and  officers  of  God's  vineyard.  The  punishment  of  the  undutiful 
and  vicious,  and  the  giving  the  vineyard  to  others,  denotes  God's 
righteous  retribution,  tirst  shown  by  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish 
temple  and  nation,  and  the  giving  of  the  vineyard  to  the  Gentiles? 
and  lastly  by  gathering  out  of  his  kingdom,  at  the  day  of  jadgment,  all 
Ihat  offend,  and  destroying  them  forever. 


PARABLE  OF    THE  VINEYARD.  381 

Jesus  beholding  them,  said :  Have  ye  never  read  this 
scripture,  or  do  ye  know  its  meaning?  That  same  stone* 


*  We  shall  briefly  notice:  1  The  stone  rejected.  2  The  crime 
and  punishment  of  those  who  reject  this  stone.  3  Its  exaltation. 
4  This  exaltation  is  the  work  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  the  admira- 
tion of  men. 

1  The  stone  rejected  is  none  other  than  Jesus,  the  Christ.  Be- 
hold! says  God  by  Isaiah,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  cor- 
ner stone,  a  sure  foundation,  Isaiah  28,  16.  In  this  application  of 
the  passage  to  Jesus,  we  are  guided  by  the  apostles  and  Christ  him- 
self. Paul  says,  Israel  who  followed  after  the  law  of  righteousness, 
did  not  attain  it,  because  they  stumbled  on  that  stone  which  God  had 
laid  in  Zion,  Rom.  9.  32,  33.  Peter  full  of  the  holy  spirit,  boldly 
announces  to  the  Jewish  rulers  and  elders  that  the  same  Jesus,  whom 
they  had  crucified,  God  had  raised  from  the  dead;  that  same  stone 
which  they  as  builders  of  God's  house  had  rejected,  God  had  exalt- 
ed to  be  the  head  of  the  corner.  Acts  4.  10,  11.  And  in  his  first 
Epistle,  addressing  the  believers  who  had  been  scattered  abroad  by 
persecution,  he  describes  them  as  living  stones,  coming  to  Jesus  the 
living  foundation  appointed  by  God,  1  Peter  2.  4 — 8.  Jesus  ap- 
plies this  passage  on  which  I  comment  to  himself.  It  is  taken 
from  Psalm  118.  22 — 24,  which  was  usually  sung  at  the  great  festi- 
val of  Tabernacles,  in  invocation  of  the  Messiah.  The  application 
of  this  passage  to  the  Messiah,  bus  been  admitted  by  the  celebrated 
Jewish  Rabbins,  Solomon  Jarchi  and  Abarbanel. 

2  The  sin  and  punishment  of  rejecting  this  foundation.  The 
stone  rejected,  is  an  expression  borrowed  from  Masons,  who  having 
tried  a  stone  in  a  certain  place  of  a  building;  and  judging  it  unsuita- 
ble, cast  it  aside  and  take  another.  Ancient  and  modern  Jews  have 
rejected  this  stone,  as  unsuitable  for  holding  a  place  in  the  spiritual 
superstructure.  Like  the  Jews,  modern  unbelievers  pretend  that 
they  have  tried,  and  found  ihis  s(one  unfit  lor  a  foundation  or  head 
corner  stone  in  the  temple  of  God.  But  Jehovah  and  all  his  ser- 
vants have  tried  Christ,  and  found  him  a  sure  foundation;  and  there- 
fore announce  him  Elect,  precious. 

Whence  has  arisen  this  difference  of  judgment  concerning  Christ 
and  his  religion.^  It  may  be  supposed  uncandid  for  one  party  to 
pronounce  sentence  on  the  other:  Yet  every  one  should  be  able 
and  ready,  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  him.  with  meek- 
ness and  fear,  1  Peter  3.  15.  Now  the  causes  which  lead  men  to 
reject  Christ  and  his  religion  are  Ignorance,  Prejudice,  and  Depra- 
vity of  Will. 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact,  that  the  greatest  part  of  those  who  pre- 
tend to  he  raise  above  what  is  written,  and  think  meanly  of  the  holy 

49 


382  PARABLE    OF  THE  VINEYARD. 

which  the  builders  rejected,  is  made  the   head   of  the 
corner.     This  is  the  doing  of  the  Lord,  and  we  behold 


scriptures,  are  notwithstanding  gpnerally  persons  of  small  attain- 
ments in  philosophy  and  science,  or  persons  who  though  they  may 
have  some  considerabU  knowledge  in  ih^^  -orts  and  science;  yet  from 
prejudice  or  aversion  to  holiness,  have  never  thoroughly  examined 
the  evidences  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  language  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton's  address  to  Dr.  Halley  is  worthy  of  perpetual  remem- 
brance, because  it  is  of  so  general  a[)plication  to  the  more  scienti- 
fical  party  of  infidels.  "I  always  attend  to  you  with  the  greatest 
deference,  when  you  converse  concerning  Astronomy  or  Mathe- 
matics, because  these  are  subjects,  which  you  have  industriously 
investigated,  and  which  you  well  understand,  but  Religion  is  a  sub- 
ject, on  which  I  always  hear  you  with  pain,  because  it  is  one,  which 
you  have  not  seriously  examined,  and  therefore  do  not  compre- 
hend. You  despise  it  because  you  have  not  studied  it,  and  you 
will  not  study  it,  because  it  is  despised  by  you." 

But  I  will  not  compliment  the  ancient  or  modern  unbelievers, 
with  the  appellation  of  men  of  science  or  wisdom.  Some  of  them 
of  old,  boasted  that  none  of  the  rulers  or  Pharisees  believed  in 
Jesus,  John  7.  48,  and  others  were  fond  of  the  title,  sophist.  S» 
many  would  in  modem  times,  affect  great  mental  powers,  and  su- 
periority of  understanding,  but  truth  declares  that  which  daily  ex- 
perience testifies,  that  nine-tenths  of  the  unbelievers  are  found  in 
the  lowest  circles  of  human  society,  and  are  such  as  are  the  prey 
of  ignorance,  depravity,  and  moral  debility.  They  keep  loose  from 
Jesus,  because  t'.ey  hate  the  life  of  self-denial,  which  his  religion 
inculcates,  and  are  too  ignorant  and  faithless,  to  know  the  blessings 
of  his  reign. 

On  the  other  hand,  who  have  cultivated  the  sciences,  and  improved 
them  and  the  arts  by  many  and  great  discoveries?  Who  proselyte 
the  nations  by  demonstrative  arguments  and  benevolent  instructions? 
Who  establish  benevolent  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  arts, 
sciences,  charity,  civilization  and  Heligion?  Who  hold  the  sceptre 
and  sway  the  empire  oflheworld.^  The  Christians!  The  Chris- 
tians, since  the  time  of  Christ,  reign  and  triumph;  and  their  history 
is  God's  convincing  argument,  for  t'le  divinity  of  their  faith,  and  the 
perpetuity  of  their  prosperity  and  triumph. 

The  sin  of  unbelievers  consists  in  their  inattention  to  the  claims 
and  duties  of  a  religion,  which  presses  upon  them  so  many  and  loud 
calls  for  examination  and  acceptance.  It  assures  them  that  without 
its  aid,  they  must  perish  everlastingly.  Secondly  their  sin  consists 
in  neglecting  the  cultivation  of  that  holy  worship  with  sincerity, 
which  nature  and  religion  unite  in  proclaiming  to  be  due  to  the  one 
eternal  Cj-od  and  Governor  of  Heaven   and  earth.     Thirdly  their 


PARABLE    OF    THE    VINEYARD  i38ii 

it  with  admiration.     Whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone 
shall  be  bruised ;  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will 


sio  consists  in  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  and  teaching 
men  ungodly  and  diabolical  sophisms,  to  be  turned  against  God,  as  an 
apology  for  not  improving  their  tnlents  for  his  glory,  and  as  a  vindi- 
cation for  their  indulgence  in  the  'zratification  of  the  flesh,  contrary 
to  the  prohibitions  of  religion.  Thus  every  infidel  is  doing  what  he 
can,  to  induce  men  to  reject  Jesus,  and  oppose  the  decree  of  heaven, 
in  placing  him  on  the  throne  of  the  universe.  Therefore  as  the  part 
which  unbelievers  act  in  this  world,  is  in  fellowship  with  devils, 
their  portion  will  be  with  devils,  in  the  lake  that  burns  with  fire  and 
brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death. 

This  punishment  is  here  described  by  another  awful  metaphor, 
by  allusion  to  the  ancient  method  of  stoning  criminals  to  death. 
They  threw  him  headlong  from  an  eminence  in  such  manner  as  to 
dash  him  against  some  great  stone,  if  this  did  not  despatch  him,  they 
threw  down  another  mighty  stone  on  his  breast,  and  thereby  crush- 
ed him  to  pieces.  Burning  and  stoning  to  death  were  the  awards 
of  infidelity  and  blasphemy  against  the  religion  of  Moses,  but  an  in- 
comparably more  severe  punishment  awaits  the  traducers  and  des- 
pisers  of  Christ's  religion,  Heb.  2.  8,  and  12.  25;  Mai.  4.  1;  1 
Thess.1.7— 9. 

3  The  exaltation  of  this  rejected  stone  to  the  head  of  the  corner. 
The  prophets  had  predicted  that  Christ  should  become  a  stone  of 
stumbling,  to  both  houses  of  Israel,  Is.  8.  1 4;  that  he  should  be  des- 
pised and  rejected  of  men.  Is.  53.  3.  These  prophecies  were  aw- 
fully fulfilled.  Jesus  came  to  his  own  but  they  received  him  not, 
John  1.11.  They  supposed  he  had  not  the  characteristics  of  the 
promised  Messiah,  and  his  conduct  and  appearance  did  not  flatter 
their  pride  and  prejudices.  Hence  ttiey  rejecterl  him.  It  seems 
however,  that  they  were  not  at  a  loss  to  recognize  him,  though 
they  imagined  it  better  policy  not  to  acknowledge  him:  This  is  the 
heir;  come  let  us  kill  him,  and  the  inheritance  will  be  ours,  Mark 
12.  7.  Like  thousands  in  our  day,  they  were  sufficiently  blind  as 
to  imagine  that  the  world  was  subject  to  chance,  or  that  the  decree 
of  heaven  might  be  frustrated:  'I'herefore  in  [he  tuadness  of  zeal, 
folly  of  unbelief,  and  blindness  of  prejudice,  they  crucified  the  Lord 
of  glory.  But  God  poured  contempt  on  their  pride,  laughed  at  their 
rage,  chastised  their  folly,  and  avenged  their  insult:  The  act  of  put- 
ting Jesus  to  death  procured  atonement  for  sin,  and  his  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead  completed  the  demonstration  of  his  divine  au- 
thority, and  the  pledge  of  man's  deliverance  from  the  power  of  the 
grave.  Thus  he  defeated  their  schemes  and  exposed  them  to  de- 
struction and  ridicule,  as  the  reward  of  their  impiety. 

The  vindication  of  the  innocence  and  divine  Mission  of  Jesus,  in 


384  PARABLE    OF    THE   VINEYARD. 

crush  him  to  pieces.  Know,  therefore,  that  the  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a  nation 
which  shall   yield  its   fruits.     And  the   Chief  Priests, 


his  exaltation  to  be  King  of  kings,  and  Lorrl  of  lords;  and  the  abo- 
lition of  the  Jewish  nntion  and  jriesthood,  holds  up  to  the  whole 
world  an  awful  spectacle  of  God's  punitive  justice,  and  a  sure  pledge 
that  Heaven  cannot  be  insulted,  nor  the  authority  of  God  disregard- 
ed, with  impunity;  but  that  as  truly  as  God  lives,  so  surely  will  all 
that  sin  against  light,  receive  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes, 
utiless  by  true  penitence,  they  betake  themselves  to  the  divine 
raercy  and  obtain  forgiveness. 

The  stone  rejected  of  men  was  tried  of  God,  and  found  to  be  a 
sure  foundation;  therefore  the  Jewish  Church  being  rejected, 
for  their  rebellion  against  Christ,  God  has  opened  a  temple  of  which 
Jesus  is  the  foundation,  and  chief  corner  stone.  All  that  will  come 
to  God,  must  acknowledge  Jesus  as  the  foundation,  and  allow  him 
to  retain  that  rank  to  which  he  has  been  raised  by  the  court  of 
heaven.  He  is  now  the  only  foundation  on  which  any  man  can 
budd  securely,  and  all  spiritual  buildings  not  laid  on  this  foundation, 
wd!  be  blown  away  with  the  winds,  or  swept  away  by  the  floods. 
Jesus  is  the  only  true  temple,  mercy  seat,  and  living  way  to  the 
Father.  The  Christian  religion  is  the  only  one  which  God  will 
acknowledge.  Faith  in  Jesus  the  only  ladder  by  which  any  soul  caa 
ever  climb  to  heaven.  Without  Jesus  nothing  can  be  done  for  the 
sinner.  No  repentance — No  change  from  corruption  to  incorrop- 
tion — No  spiritual  life — No  peace  with  God — No  salvation— No 
heaven — No  glory — Hear  this  all  ye  that  forget  God,  and  all  ye 
that  despise  or  neglect  the  religion  of  Jesus,  lest  ye  die  in  your  sins 
and  perish  eternally. 

4  This  exaltation  is  the  doing  of  tl.e  Lord.  The  rank  to  which 
Christ  is  elevated  in  glory  is  not  to  us  conceivable — for  eye  has  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  can  the  mind  of  man  conceive  what  God 
has  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  him.  O!  what  then  must  be  the  glory 
and  dignity  of  the  Redeemer  of  men!  But  let  us  talk  of  what  we 
know;  what  our  eyes  have  seen;  what  our  hands  have  handled;  and 
our  hearts  can  conceive  of  the  Mediator's  exaltation. 

From  the  rank  of  a  poor  unknown  carpenter,  born  of  very  poor 
parents,  of  an  obscure  and  ill-famed  village;  God  called  the  son  ©f 
Joseph  and  Mary,  not  by  the  intervention  of  arms,  not  by  the  pat- 
ronage of  courts,  not  by  power,  nor  might,  but  by  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  of  hosts.  At  the  appointment  and  call  of  God,  Jesus  became 
aa  humble  teacher  of  religion.  No  fame  in  politics,  in  literature,  or 
science,  or  oratory  distinguished  him,  nor  raised  him  to  the  bar 
of  state,  the  court   of  princes,    or  the   rostrum   of  philosophers. 


PARABLE  OF  THE  VINEYARD.  385 

Scribes,  and  Pharisees,  hearing  his  parables,  perceived 
that  he  spake  against  them;  but  though  they  sought  to 
seize  him,  at  that  very  hour,  they  feared  the  people  be- 
cause they  regarded  him  as  a  pn)phet. 


Mean,  poor,  unbefriended,  and  unsupported,  be  made  his  appear* 
ance  as  a  plain  itinerant  preacher.  The  miracles,  however,  which 
God  wrought  by  hira,  soon  attracted  notice,  and  assembled  many 
thousands  from  diflferent  parts  of  the  country  to  see  and  hear  the 
new  teacher.  Rapid  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  flew  his  fame.  The 
rulers  are  surprised,  the  people  are  in  expectation,  the  priests  and 
Scribes  are  alarmed;  a  public  commotion  ensues,  and  Jesus  is  ar- 
rested by  the  public  authorities,  and  crucified  as  an  enemy  to  civil 
and  religious  establishments. 

Who  now  would  have  dreamed  of  Christ's  success.  His  best 
friends  are  disconcerted  and  scattered;  his  disciples  think  no  longer 
of  speaking  in  the  name  of  Jesus;  and  all  seems  to  have  terminated, 
in  dismay  and  despair!  But  at  once,  news  from  the  tomb,  revives 
their  spirits.  Jesus  is  risen  indeed — He  is  now  declared  to  be  the 
son  of  God  with  power  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  The 
disciples  are  restored  to  faith  and  confidence:  they  speak  boldly  ia 
the  name  of  Jesus.  They  assert  his  risen  glory.  His  exaltation 
as  a  Prince  and  Saviour,  and  call  upon  all  men  in  the  name  of 
Heaven,  to  bow  to  the  sceptre  of  Christ  on  the  responsibility  of 
accounting  to  God  for  their  conduct  in  case  of  refusal.  Thousands 
believe.  Their  number  increases  daily.  The  new  religion  tri- 
umphs. The  nations  are  converted.  Near  two  thousand  years 
have  elapsed,  nothing  occurs  to  weaken,  but  much  to  increase  faith 
and  complete  the  triumph,  and  render  Jesus  the  desire  of  all  na- 
tions, prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth!  Say  O  ye  rational  beings. 
Is  not  this  the  doing  of  the  Lord — Are  not  these  his  doings,  wonder 
ous  in  our  eyes.^ 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTH 

GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESUS. 

Among  those  who  came  to  worship  at  the  festival  were 
some  Greeks  *  who  applied  to  Philip  of  Bethsaida,  in 


*  There  are  different  opiaions  about  these  persons  called  Greeks 
1.  Semler  and  others  contend  they  were  Jews  whose  constant  resi- 


386  GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESUS. 

Galilee,  making  this  request:  Sir,  We  wish  to  see  Jesus. 
Philip  went  and  toll  \ndrew;  and  Andrew  and  Philip 
told  Jesus.  And  Jesus  answered  them:  The  time  is 
come  wlien  the  Son  of  man  must  be  glorified.  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  to  you,  nti!  .ss  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,*  it  remains  single;  but  if  it  die;  it  yields 


deDce  was  among  the  Gentiles,  and  therefort  spoke  the  Greek  lan> 
gnage.  But  this  is  contrary  to  fact  for  two  reasons:  1.  These  pier- 
sons  are  called  Hellenes  from  Hellen,  a  king  of  that  name;  and  were 
therefore  native  Greeks  thus  distinguished  from  Jews  by  discent, 
wao  are  always  called  Hellenists,  when  they  were  born  and  educa- 
ted among  the  Greeks  and  spoke  their  language.  Acts,  vi.  1.  and 
ix.  29.  The  Hellenes  are  distinguished  from  Jews,  Acts,  xx.  21; 
Rom.  ii.  5.  2.  These  Greeks  could  not  be  Grecizing  Jews,  for 
had  they  been  so,  they  could  have  entered  the  temple  and  seen 
Jepus,  without  making  request  to  Philip,  the  object  of  which  request 
Was  to  bring  Jesus  ont  of  the  inner  temple  to  the  outer  court,  that 
they  might  see  him. 

2  The  second  opinion  defended  by  Lardner,  Vossius,  and  Salma- 
sius,  is  that  these  Greeks  were  idolatrous  Gentiles.  Lightfoot  and 
Wetstein  have  cited  many  places  of  Josephus  and  the  writings  of 
the  Rabbins  to  show,  that  the  Gentiles  not  only  sent  presents  and 
offerings  to  the  temple,  but  even  came  occasionally  themselves  to 
worship. 

3  The  more  generally  received  opinion  is,  that  they  were  Prose- 
lytes  of  the  Gate,  who  came  up  to  Jerusalem,  at  this  festival,  to  wor- 
ship. They  were  Gentiles  by  birth,  but  converts  to  the  Jewish 
religion,  and  therefore  indifferently  called  Gentiles,  Greeks,  or  Pro- 
selytes, Acts,  xiii.  42,  43;  xi.  1,  20;  and  xv.  7,  23.  This  opinion 
has  been  defended  by  Noesselt,  and  approbated  by  Kuinoel,  Rosen - 
muUer,  Whitby,  Hammond,  and  Clarke.  Grotius  thinks  they  were 
Syro-Phenicians,  whose  country  lay  to  the  North  of  Galilee,  and 
therefore  having  an  opportunity  of  being  acquainted  with  Philip  of 
Beths^ida,  they  interceded  with  him,  that  they  might  be  indulged 
with  an  interview  with  his  Master.  It  is  very  probable  that  this 
desire  of  the  Greek  proselytes  was  excited,  by  the  extraordinary 
conduct  of  Jesus  iu  cleasing  the  outer  court  of  the  temple,  where 
they  worshipped. 

*  Our  Lord  by  this  expression  intimates,  that  his  death  was  as 
essentially  necessary  to  the  promotion  of  his  kingdom,  and  its  ex- 
tension to  the  Gentile  world,  as  the  death  of  grain  to  its  increase 
by  vegitation. 

For  the  illutsration  of  death  and  the  resurrection,  both  Christ 
and  Paul  refer  to  the  process  of  vegitation,  John,  xii.  24;   I  Cor. 


GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESUS.  387 

much  fruit  Would  any  man  serve  me,  let  him  follow 
me ;  and  where  I  am,  there  shall  my  servant  be  also ;  and 
my  Father  will  reward  him.  J-le  that  loves  his  life  shall 
lose  it,  but  he  that  hates  his  life  in  this  world,  shall  pre- 
serve it  eternally  in  the  next. 

Now  is  my  soul  troubled;  but  how  shall  I  say:  Father 
save  me  from  this  hour,  when  for  this  very  cause,  I  have 
come  to  this  hour?  Father,  glorify  thy  Son.  Then 
came  a  voice*  from  Heaven:  I  have  glorified,  and  will 


XV.  Sr.  The  seed  is  sown  in  the  earth,  but  it  produces  not  unless 
it  die,  by  losing  its  external  appearance,  and  undergoing  corruption: 
but  as  the  body  of  the  grain  wastes,  by  dissolving  into  fine  mould, 
the  embryo  plant  springs  fourth  from  the  germ,  which  receives  new 
life  and  formation  out  of  the  wasting,  corrupting  body  of  the  former 
grain.  Nothing  lived  but  the  germ  which  would  have  also  died, 
had  it  not  escaped  dissolution  in  the  decomposition  of  the  body. 
From  the  inherent  germ,  the  identity  of  the  plant  or  gr;iin  is  pre- 
served. If  then  the  germ  be  preserved  m  a  grain  of  wheat,  whilst 
the  component  parts  of  the  body  sink  in  dissolutoin,  why  not  admit 
the  same  analogy  in  orgaoized  animal  matter?  And  why  may  not 
the  soul,  like  the  germ,  receive  its  new  body  from  the  dissolving 
particles  of  the  old? 

But  do  we  find  that  a  grain  of  wheat  lies  for  years  in  a  state  of 
corruption  and  death,  before  it  revives,  and  springs  up  into  newness 
of  life?  Certainly  not.  If  grain  rise  not  out  of  the  very  process  of 
dissolution,  and  revive  in  the  very  act  of  dying,  we  never  expect  it  to 
live  again.  So  according  to  the  analogy  given  us  by  Christ  and 
Paul,  if  the  resurrection  take  not  place,  at  the  time  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  body  by  death,  we  have  no  analogy,  no  reason  to  induce  us  to 
believe,  it  ever  shall;  and  the  force  and  pertinency  of  our  Lord's  rea- 
soning is  entirely  lost.  But  that  such  was  the  belief  and  doctrine 
of  the  Apostle,  none  can  doubt,  who  with  an  honest  heart  read  the 
fifth  chapter  of  his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  There  he 
expresses  his  belief,  that  his  body  would  be  destroyed;  that  imrae.- 
diately  on  its  dissolution,  he  would  obtain  his  new  house  or  body 
from  heaven.  His  words  are  remarkable.  We  know,  that  if  this 
earthly  house  were  dissolved,  we  have — not  we  shall  have — but  we 
have  presently.  Isaiah  excites  the  Church  to  confidence  in  God, 
that  when  their  dead  should  be  cast  into  the  earth,  their  dew  would 
be  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  causing  them  to  rise  out  of  the  earth  like 
vegitation,  Isaiah,  xxvi.  19- 

*  One  of  the  most  ancient  tokens  of  God's  immediate  presence 
was  the  utterance  of   a  voice  from  Haven  in  the  manner  here  de- 


388  GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESLS 

glorify  him  again.*  Then  the  multitude  who  were  present, 
hearing  the  sound,  said:  It  thundered.  Others  said: 
An  angel  spake  to  hira.  Jesus  said:  This  voice  came 
not  for  my  sake  but  for  yours.  Now  is  the  judgment  of 
this  world  f  Now  must  the  Prince  of  this  world  be  cast 
out.  And  when  I  am  lifted  from  the  earth,  I  will  draw 
all  men  unto  myself.  This  he  said  to  signify  the  man- 
ner of  his  death. 


scribed.  This  voice  proceeded  from  Heaven  by  the  ministry  of  an 
angel,  and  was  usually  preceded  by  thunder,  as  in  this  case,  and 
at  the  conversion  of  Paul,  and  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Sinai.  As 
the  voice  proceeded  from  the  thunder  clap  as  it  died  away,  it  was 
called  by  the  Jews  Bath  Col,  the  daughter  of  the  voice  or  sound. 
The  Bath  Col  was  not  always  attended  by  thunder,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  instances  of  its  coming  to  Samuel  like  a  man's  voice,  to 
Moses  like  a  man  speaking  from  behind  the  Mercy  Seat,  or  to  Job 
as  the  whispering  of  a  spectre.  Maimonides  thinks  the  Bath  Col 
was  an  imaginary  voice,  which  a  man  seemed  to  hear,  in  consequence^ 
of  some  ideas  being  suddenly  and  vividly  impressed  on  his  imagina- 
tion; but  Abarbanel  vehemently  opposes  this  opinion,  and  asserts 
the  ancient  belief  to  be,  that  it  was  of  supernatural  origin,  and  a 
miraculous  impulse  on  the  air;  forming  a  distinct  and  audible  sound 
like  that  of  the  articulation  of  the  human  voice;  and  to  this  the  Tal- 
DQudical  wr-ters  agree.  Wetslein  supposes  the  voice  w;is  uttered  in 
the  language  in  common  use  among  the  Jews,  and  therefore  the 
Greeks,  who  did  not  understand  the  Syro-Chaldaic,  hearing  nothing 
distinctly,  said:  It  thunders;  but  the  Jews  in  whose  language  the 
voice  was  uttered,  said:   An  angel  has  spoken  to  him. 

*  Lightfoot  says  Christ's  divine  authority  was  thrice  attested 
from  Heaven,  ajcording  to  his  threefold  ofl&ce  of  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King:  first,  at  his  Baptism,  when  he  entered  on  his  ministry  as 
the  great  High  Priest:  second,  at  his  tran -figuration,  as  the  great 
Prophet  to  whom  all  were  commanded  to  hearken:  third,  at  this 
lime,  as  the  great  King  of  Zion,  when  he  had  just  entered  Jerusa- 
lem, as  the  King  that  comes  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Jehovah 
glorified  his  Son,  not  only  by  audible  voices  from  Heaven;  but  also 
by  stupendous  miracles,  during  his  minstry,  unexampled  prodigies 
at  his  death,  and  a  miraculous  display  of  his  parental  regard,  in  his 
immediate  resurrection. 

t  There  are  two  very  dissimilar  opinions  about  the  meaning  of 
Christ  in  this  place.  The  first  is  that  the  word  world,  means  all 
unbelievers,  who  by  rejecting  Christ,  unite  in  condemning  him.  The 
Prince  of  this  world  denotes  Satan,  or  Sammael  the  angel  of  Death. 
According  to  this  view,  Jesus  here  predicts  the  arrest  of  the  Devi! 


GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESUS.  389 

The  multitude  answered  him:  We  have  heard  from 
the  Law,  that  the  Messiah  shall  live  forever,  why  then 
doest  thou  say,  the  Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up?  Who 
is  this  Son  of  man?  Then  Jesus  cried,  saying:  He  that 
believes  on  me,  believes  not  on  me  alone,  but  also  on  him 
that  sent  me:  and  he  who  sees  me,  sees  also  him  that 
sent  me.  I  am  come  a  light  into  the  world,  that  who- 
soever believes  on  me,  may  not  remain  in  darkness.  And 
if  any  man,  who  hears  my  words,  do  not  observe  them,  1 
do  not  condemn  him,  for  1  came  not  to  condemn  the 
world,  but  to  save  the  world.  Yet  he  who  despises  me 
and  rejects  my  instructions,  has  that  which  condemns 
him.  The  doctrine  which  I  have  taught  will  condemn 
him  at  the  last  day ;  because  1  have  not  spoken  of  my- 
self, but  the  Father,  who  sent  me,  gave  me  instruction 
what  I  should  command  and  what  I  should  teach.  And 
1  know  that  his  commandment  is  eternal  life.  Whatever, 
therefore,  I  say,  I  speak  as  the  Father  gave  me  instruc- 
tions. But  a  little  time  longer  shall  the  light  continue 
with  you.  Walk  while  ye  have  it,  lest  darkness  come 
on  you;  for  he  that  walks  in  darkness,  knows  not 
whither  he  is  going.  Whilst  ye  have  the  light,  confide 
in  it;  that  ye  may  be  sons  of  light.  Having  spoken  these 
words,  Jesus  went  away,  and  concealed  himself. 


and  evil  Spirits  in  their  rule  and  influence  among  men,  and  the  fall 
of  idolatry  in  the  Gentle  world.  The  second  opinion,  maintained 
by  Waketieid,  is  that  Christ  alludes  to  the  sentence  of  death  about 
to  be  pronounced  against  him  by  Pilate,  and  calls  himself  the 
Prince  of  this  world,  in  anticipation  of  what  he  was  about  to  be  im- 
mediately after  his  ascension,  Matthew,  xxviii.  18,  and  Philip,  ii. 
99.  Both  opinions  are  very  plausible,  and  the  reader  may  choose 
for  himself.  That  the  Devil  was  called  the  Prince  of  this  world 
by  the  Jt;ws,  cannot  be  doubted  by  liim  v/ho  reaf's  the  quotations 
adduced  in  evidence,  by  Lig-htlbot,  Welstein,  and  Groiius:  and  this 
supposition  may  account  for  the  diminution  of  demoniacal  influence 
over  men  liiuce  the  d>iatb  of  Christ;  and  seems  to  be  in  unison  with 
what  Jesus  saitito  the  seventy  on  their  returu,  concerning  the  fall 
of  Satan  from  the  throne  of  empire  in  the  world. 


390  GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESUS. 

Thus  Jesus  taught  in  the  temple  by  day,  but  in 
the  evening  he  went  out  to  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  lodg- 
ed there:  and  in  the  morning  the  people  came  early  to  the 
temple  to  hear  him.  But  though  he  performed  so  many 
miracles  before  them,  they  did  not  believe  on  him,  so 
that  these  words  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah  were  confirmed: 
Lord  who  has  believed  our  report  .'*  and  to  whom  has  the 
arm  of  the  Lord  been  manifested.^  For  this  reason, 
they  could  not  believe:  for  Isaiah  says  again:  He  has 
blinded  their  eyes  and  hardened  their  hearts,  that  they 
might  not  see  with  their  eyes,  comprehend  with  their 
understanding,  and  be  converted,  that  I  might  save* 
them.  Thus  spake  Isaiah  when  he  saw  his  glory  and 
prophesied   concerning  him. f  Nevertheless,  many  of  the 


•Much  discussion  has  existed  for  a  long  time,  concerning  the  im- 
port of  this  passage,  between  Calvinistic  and  Arminian  writers.  The 
first,  desirous  of  maintaining  God's  absolute  sovereignty,  and  the 
latter  man's  moral  ability.  Now  in  this  controversy,  as  it  often 
happens,  both  are  right  and  both  are  wrong.  That  is,  there  is  a 
mixture  of  truth  and  falsehood  in  both  systems.  The  following 
propositions  are  capable  of  the  most  clear  and  decisive  evidence. 
1.  God  is  absolutely  sovereign.  He  gives  or  not,  as  he  pleases, 
and  when  he  pleases.  He  may  therefore  ordain  to  life  or  pass  by 
whom  he  pleases.  2.  God  never  intended  the  salvatioa  of  all  men, 
nor  did  he  ever  provide  either  the  means  or  the  mansions  of  bliss 
for  all.  The  Apostle  says,  God  has  abounded  in  all  wisdom  and 
prudence,  in  his  plan  of  salvation,  Ephes.  i.  8j  but  there  would  be 
BO  wisthjm  or  prudence  in  providing  for  those  whom  God  foreknew 
would  never  profit  by  such  provision.  3.  Jesus'  mediatoral  death 
and  sacrifice  was  never  made,  nor  intended  for  the  benefit  of  all. 
Millions  of  Adam's  race  had  passed  to  the  land  of  forgetfulness, 
never  to  be  recalled,  before  they  had  an  opportunity  of  hearing 
of  Christ  or  his  salvation.  The  supposition  that  God  made  Christ 
an  expiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  damned,  partakes  more  of 
the  nature  of  blasphemy  than  religion.  4.  Only  those  to  whom 
God  is  pleased  to  reveal  his  Son  and  Spirit  can  be  saved,  if  the 
Scriptures  be  true;  and  this  number  has  never,  in  any  age  of  the 
world,  amounted  to  one  in  a  hundred  of  earth's  inhabitants. 

tThis  is  another  incontestible  proof  of  the  pre-existent  glory  ot 
Christ.  John  refers  to  Isaiah,  vi.  5,  9,  10,  and  says:  Isaiah  spoke 
thus  when  he  saw  Christ's  glory;  but  the  person  whom  Isaiah  saw, 
is  there  called  the  King,  the  Lord  of  Hosts.     Now  the  only  <rue 


GREEKS  DESIRE  TO  SEE  JESUS.  391 

rulers  believed  on  him ;  but  they  did  not  acknowledge, 
through  fear  of  the  Pharisees,  lest  they  should  be  ex- 
pelled the  Synagogue;  for  they  preferred  the  praise  of 
these  men  to  the  approbation  of  God . 


Scriptural  and  ecclesiastical  interpretation  is,  that  Jesus  in  his  pre- 
existent  state,  acting  as  the  angel  ol  Jehovah,  personated  God  in 
many  interviews  with  mankind. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  NINTH. 

Christ's  reply  to  the  Herodians. 

And  the  Pharisees  having  retired,  and  consulted  how 
they  might  ensnare  him,  in  his  discourse,  sent  to  him 
some  of  their  disciples  and  the  Herodians,*'  as  spies,  who 
might  watch  him  maliciously  and  feign  themselves  to  be 
upright  men,  in  order  that  they  might  entrap  him  in  his 
words,  and  deliver  him  to  the  jurisdiction  and  authority 
of  the  governor.  And  when  they  came,  they  said  to  him: 
Rabbi,  we  know  that  thou  art  sincere,  and  that  thou 
teachest  the  way  of  God  faithfully,  without  fear  of  man; 
for  thou  respectest  not  the  persons  of  men:  tell  us,  there- 
fore, thine  opinion:  Is  it  lawful  to  pay  tribute  to  Caesar 
or  not.'*  But  knowing  their  malicious  hypocrisy,  he  said 
to  them:  Dissemblers,  why  would  ye  entangle  me? 
Show^  me  the  tribute  money,  that  I  may  see  it.  So  they 
brought  him  a  denarie.     He  asked  them:  Whose  image 


*  These  Herodians  we  have  already  described  in  Section  twenty- 
eight,  page  109.  They  and  the  Pharisees  were  opposed  in  princi- 
ples and  feeling;  but  now  seeing  they  both  conspire  against  Christ, 
they  are  united  to  accomplish  their  common  end.  The  subtilty 
and  malice  of  their  plans  were  almost  inconceivable,  but  Jesus 
brought  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  to  nought.  His  reply  is  an  admira- 
ble lesson  on  that  distinction  which  God  has  placed  between  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  and  that  of  this  world,  and  a  lasting  rebuke  on 
all  efforts  to  unite  or  compound  the  government  of  Church  and 
State. 


392  Christ's  reply  to, the  herodians. 

and  inscription  is  this?  They  answered  Ceesar's.  Then 
Jesus  replied:  Render  therefore  to  Caesar,  that  which 
is  Caesar's;  and  to  God,  those  things  which  are  God's. 
Then  being  unable  to  take  advantage  of  this  decision, 
they  were  silent.  So  admiring  his  answer  and  leaving 
him,  they  went  away. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TENTH. 

Christ's  reply  to  the  Sadducees. 

On  the  same  day  came  Sadducees  to  him  who  say: 
There  is  no  future  life,*  and  thus  addressed  him:  Rabbi, 
Moses  gave  us  this  law.  If  a  man's  brother  die,  and 
leave  a  wife  without  children,  that  man  should  take  his 
brother's  wife  and  raise  children  to  the  deceased.     Now 


*  Campbell  jjistly  observes,  that  our  English  translation  gives 
but  a  very  defective  account  of  the  sentiments  of  the  Sadducees,  by 
saying  that  they  denied  the  resurrection;  for  it  is  notorious,  not 
only  from  what  is  said  by  Josephus,  and  other  Jewish  writers,  also 
from  Acts,  xxiii.  8,  that  they  denied  the  existence  of  angels,  and  all 
spirits;  and  consequently  denied  a  future  existence.  In  this  they 
went  far  beyond  the  Pagans  in  intidelity.  For  though  the  heathen 
world  did  not  believe,  what  Christians  call  the  resurrection  of  the 
body,  yet  they  acknowledged  the  existence  of  the  soul  after  death; 
and  believed  in  a  place  where  they  would  be  rewarded  or  punished 
after  death,  according  to  the  deeds  which  they  h;id  done  on  the 
''arth.  But  in  the  common  English  version,  the  Sadducees  are  only 
said  to  deny  the  Resurrection,  by  which  is  generally  understood  a 
resuscitation  of  man's  corporeal  fabric  from  tli'^  grnve,  and  its  re- 
union with  the  soul;  but  to  such  a  doctrine  our  Lord's  reply  has  not 
the  most  distant  allusion.  What  the  argument  of  Christ  refutes, 
and  what  it  was  intended  to  condemn,  is  the  doctrine  of  no  future 
existence  for  the  soul.  The  main  dispute  between  the  Saddncees 
and  the  Pharisees,  was  not  whether  there  should  be  a  resurrection 
of  the  body,  for  this  many  of  the  Pharisees  th^^mselves  disbelieved, 
conlining  the  resurrection  to  the  just,  but  all  of  them  believed  in  the 
future  existence  of  the  soul,  and  in  the  rewards  of  the  virtuous  and 
punishment  of  the  wicked.  Indeed,  I  doubt  whether  any  Phari- 
sees, or  any  of  the  Ancients,  either  Jewish  or  Gentile,  believed  the 
doctrine  ofthe  resurrection  of  the  body,  as  that  doctrine  is  generally 


CHRIST  S  REPLY  TO   THE  SADDUCEES.  895 

there  lived  among  us  seven  brothers ;  and  the  eldest  having 
married  a  wile,  died  having  no  issue,  and  left  his  wife  to 
his  brother.  Tlien  the  second  took  her,  but  died  leaving 
no  issue.  And  the  third  likewise  took  her,  and  even  the 
seventh  married  her,  but  they  died  leaving  no  children. 
Last  of  all  the  woman  died  also.  At  the  resurrection, 
therefore,  when  they  live  again,  to  which  of  the  seven 
shall  the  woman  belong,  for  they  all  married  her?  Jesus 
replied:  Ye  greatly  err  not  knowing  the  Scriptures  nor 
the  power  of  God.  The  children  of  this  life  marry  and 
are  given  in  marriage,  but  those  who  shall  be  accounted 
worthy  to  obtain  that  life  and  the  resurrection*  from  the 


believed  and  tanght  among  Christians.  Sadduceism  consisted  in  the 
belief  that  the  dissoliuion  of  the  body  was  the  destruction  of  the 
living  principle.  Hence  they  were,  correctly  speaking,  infidel  ma- 
terialists. Against  this  our  Lord's  reasoning  was  pertinent  and 
conclusive:  for  Jehovah  could  not  with  propriety  of  language  be 
called  the  God  of  a  mere  nonentity.  But  if  the  souls  of  the  Patri- 
archs were  annihilated  at  the  dissolution  of  their  bodies,  they  had 
no  longer  any  existence,  and  consequently  were  incapable  of  pos- 
sessing anything,  or  being  themselves  possessed  by  any.  What' 
therefore  did  no  longer  exist,  could  not  have  a  God;  nor,  by  parity 
of  argument,  could  Jehovah  be  the  God  of  a  physical  nothing.  Now 
the  force  of  the  argument  lies  in  the  use  of  the  present  tense.  Je- 
hovah s^ys,  /  am,  not  I  was  or  shall  be  the  God  of  Abraham.  Conse- 
quently though  Abraham's  body  had  long  min^,led  with  the  dust,  his 
soul  lived  in  Paradise:  and  to  this  Jesus  chiefly  refers  by  saying: 
All  live  to  God  That  is,  all  who  live  must  have  a  God,  and  all 
who  have  a  God,  must  live. 

*  Our  Lord's  reply  to  the  Sadducees  contains  three  important 
propositions.  1.  All  that  live  here  shall  not  live  hereafter.  2.  All 
that  are  raised  to  a  second  life,  shall  not  obtain  the  resurrection. 
S.  All  that  obtain  a  future  life  and  resurrection,  shall  live  eternally, 
and  be  equal  to  the  angels  in  heaven. 

1.  All  who  have  lived  on  earth,  shall  not  live  again  after  death. 
The  Sadducees,  like  some  modern  intidels,  believed  death  to  be 
an  eternrd  sleep.  The  general  principle  is  refuted  by  J.-sus,  but 
the  directly  opposite  doctrine  is  neither  asserted,  n^r  mentioned  by 
Christ,  or  any  of  the  Prophets  or  Apostles.  Those  who  have  lived 
in  this  world,  but  have  not  become  proper  subjects  of  either  re- 
ward or  punishment,  shall  never  live  again.  Such,  in  general,  are 
all  children  and  idiots,  as  well  as  all  in  heathen  lands,  who  have 


394  Christ's  reply  to  the  sadducees. 

dead,  shall  neither  marry  nor  be  given  in  marriage,  but 
shall  be  as  angels  in  Heaven.  Neither  can  they  die  any 
more,  for  they  are  equal  to  the  angels,  and  shall  be  sons 
of  God  being  the  children  of  the  resurrection.  But  as 
to  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  have  ye  not  read  in  the 
book  of  Moses,  what  God  said  to  him  in  the  bush,  where 


been  in  no  wise  distinguished  for  virtue  or  rice.  The  only  excep- 
tion to  be  made  here,  is,  that  baptized  children  of  *pioas  Jews  and 
Christians,  are  included  in  the  Covenant  with  their  parents. 

2.  All  who  live  again  shall  not  attain  a  resurrection  in  the  Jewish 
and  Scriptural  sense  of  that  term.  All  who  have  made  themselves 
acquainted  with  the  opinions  of  the  Pharisees,  which  are  here  sub- 
stantially acknowledged  and  advocated  by  Jesus,  as  they  were  also 
by  Paul,  Acts,  xxiii.  6,  must  know,  that  though  they  believed,  in 
common  with  mankind  in  general,  in  a  future  life  and  accountability, 
yet  they  limitted  the  resurrection  to  the  true  and  faithful  sons  of 
Abraham.  Here  as  well  as  where  Christ  discourses  with  Martha 
about  the  resurrection,  the  subjects  are  not  all  men,  nor  even  all 
Jews,  but  only  such  as  shall  be  accounted  worthy,  and  these  Jesus 
defin'tely  distinguishes,  as  those  who  believed  on  him,  John,  xi.  25, 
26.     See  the  notf^s,  Section  ninety-sixth,  page  352. 

For  the  illustration  of  this  and  the  following  proposition,  it  may 
be  necessary  to  observe,  that  the  phrase,  a.vaaru<rig  tut  n^^m,  is 
perhaps  exclusively  used  in  telation  to  the  souls  of  the  faithful. 
The  word  (cvarao-tj  from  a»»r*)/xt,  radically  and  properly  signifies, 
elevation,  as  opposed  to  falling:  hence  it  signifies,  1.  a  transition  from 
death  or  inactivity  to  life  or  action;  2.  an  elevation  from  obscurity 
to  eminence.  In  the  reply  of  Jesus  both  views  are  included,  and 
the  distinction  preserved  between  a  revival  of  the  dead,  called  sim- 
ply avorctaKj  or  denoted  by  the  phrase  o»  nxjot  tyn^ovTott,  and  the  re- 
surrection from  the  dead,  which  implies  elevation  from  Hades,  or 
the  region  of  the  dead,  to  the  highest  Heaven.  Hence  it  easily  ap- 
pears, that  here  our  Lord  distinguishes  between  the  three  following 
doctrines:  Sadduceism,  which  denied  a  future  life;  Paganism,  which 
admitted  a  future  life,  but  not  a  resurrection  from  the  dead;  and 
Phariseism,  which  held  both  degrees  of  the  ayatrao-*?'  The  first,  a 
resuscitation  of  the  living  principle  or  soul  at  death'to  dwell  in  Hades 
with  the  ghosts;  second,  an  elevation  of  all  the  righteous  ofiFspring 
of  Abraham  to  reign  with  the  Messiah,  in  his  kingdom. 

3.  The  Resurrection,  emphatically  speaking,  and  which  is  pro- 
perly called  the  Resurrection  £»c  vixjai*,  is  peculiar  to  the  righteous. 
None  but  those  whose  prejudice  has  put  out  their  eyes,  can  raad 
I.  Cor.  XV.  55-58,  without  perceiving  that  the  Apostle  confines  all 
he  savs  of  the  resurrection  frem  the  dead,  to  the  faithful  in  Christ. 


Christ's  reply  to  the  sadducees.  395 

he  calls  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  Jacob.  But  he  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead 
but  of  the  living,  for  all  live  to  him.  Then  some  of  the 
Scribes  answering  said  to  him:  Master,  thou  hast  spoken 
well.  And  the  people  who  heard  him,  were  likewise 
amazed  at  his  doctrine 


Jesus.  None  except  infidels  ever  dreamed  of  no  future  existence 
before  the  time  of  Christ's  resurrection;  for  Heathens  and  Jews 
were  united  in  opinion  that  the  souls  of  men  lived  after  death  in 
Hades,  or  Sheol.  But  the  sacred  writers  expressly  declare  Christ 
to  be  \he  first  fruits  and  the  first  begotten  from  the  dead.  Hence 
Paul  says  he  counted  all  loss,  and  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things, 
that  he  might  by  any  means  attain  to  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
Philip,  iii.  11.  Likewise  Jesus  distinguishes  between  those,  who 
should  merely  return  to  future  life,  and  those  who  would  be  account- 
ed worthy  to  attain  to  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 

The  error  of  the  Sadducees  was  destructive  of  all  true  religion, 
but  like  modern  sceptics  and  infidels,  they  imagined  their  scheme 
to  be  sufficiently  safe,  as  long  as  they  perceived  any  defect  in  those 
of  others;  they  exercised  themselves  with  objecting  to  others  rather 
than  examining  their  own.  Probably  the  Pharisees  had  some  crude 
notions  about  the  resurrection  like  most  half-taught  christians,  who 
expect  a  resurrection  of  the  entire  body  of  man.  If  such  were  the 
notions  of  any  of  the  Pharisees,  we  do  not  feel  surprize  at  the  ridi- 
cule of  the  Sadducees.  No  rational  man  will  expect  a  resurrection 
of  the  entire  body,  nor  could  it  be  necessary  to  his  identity.  Whilst 
the  particles  that  compose  the  present  structure  come  and  pass 
away,  man  feels  his  person  still  the  same.  At  death  as  in  life,  all 
the  gross  particles  of  the  body  are  transient,  and  when  loosed  in  dia- 
solution,  these  bones,  tubes,  muscles,  and  teguments  will  fly  away, 
and  ever  maintain  the  truth  of  the  Pythagorean  hypothesis  in 
relation  to  matter:  but  the  finer  and  more  intellectual  part  of 
man,  receiving  anew  the  impress  of  the  plastic  power  of  a  pre- 
seiving  and  ruling  God,  shall  spring  from  the  tomb,  like  a  plant 
from  the  seed  sown  in  the  ground,  having  all  the  feelings,  passions 
and  propensities  of  him  that  was  entombed.  And  should  the  soul 
be  destined  to  have  a  share  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  to  the 
regions  of  immortality,  it  will  experience  a  second  and  more  glo- 
rious change;  such  as  is  described  by  Paul,  I.  Cor.  xv.  52-58. 

When  Bishop  Warburton  endeavoured  to  show  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection  could  not  be  proved  from  the  law  of  Moses,  he 
omitted  in  his  paradoxical  attempt,  to  refute  the  argument  that 
may  be  drawn  from  the  traditional  interpretation  of  the  scriptures 
by  the  Jews.    The  argument  of  the  Sadducees  against  the  resurrec- 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  ELEVENTH. 

Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees. 

But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  that  he  had  silenced 
the  Sadducees,  they  flocked  about  him  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. And  one  of  them  who  was  a  Scribe  and  a  teach- 
er of  the  law,  having  heard  the  disputation,  and  admit- 
ted that  Jesus  had  refuted  t!ie  Saddueees,  tried  him  with 
this  question:  Rabbi,  which  is  the  chief*  of  all  the  com- 


tion  did  not  affect  the  doctrine,  but  merely  the  decision  of  the  Phar- 
isees, who  h;>d  determined  that  a  woman,  who  had  been  married  to 
different  persons,  would  be  restored,  at  the  resurrection,  to  her  first 
husband.  Christ  by  correcting  this  mistake  of  the  Pharisees,  dis- 
armed the  cavilling  Saddueees. 

It  is  uUerly  inconceivable  how  Bishop  Law  and  Dr.  Priestley 
could  escape  observing  the  refutation  of  their  scheme  in  our  Lord's 
reply  to  the  Saddueees;  for  no  other  naeaning  can  be  attached  to 
the  quotation  from  the  Pentateuch,  except  that  Abraham  was  liv- 
ing, in  the  enjoyment  of  happiness  with  God,  at  the  time  God  spake 
to  Moses:  and  thi^  is  the  very  belief  and  sentiment  which  Jo- 
sephus  ascribes  to  the  Maccabees.     See  Clarke  on  Luke  20.  38. 

*  This  great  commandment  recorded  in  Dent.  6.  4,  was  not  only 
written  on  the  Phylacteries  of  the  Jews,  but  also  on  their  houses 
and  door-posts;  for  so  they  thought  the  law  required  Ex.  13.  16, 
and  Deut.  6.  9.  In  writing  or  engraving  it,  they  made  the  last 
Hebrew  letter  of  the  words,  which  begin  and  ended  the  sentence, 
much  larger  than  usual  in  their  copies  of  the  Law.  Jesus  appro- 
bates their  decision,  and  unilfs  with  them  in  sentiment,  that  this 
great  principle  of  tlie  Divme  IJuiiy,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all 
tru6  religion.  One  God  in  one  indivisible  person,  ie  the  doctrine 
of  Moses  i.nd  Jesus. 

1  he  nation  of  the  Jews  was  surrounded  by  heathen  idolaters;  and 
this  circumstauce  alone,  even  on  the  supposition  of  the  word  imply- 
ing a  plurality,  fully  explams  whjthe  Jewish  legislator  should  pro- 
claim, "Our  Elohim  is  one  Jehovah;  because  whilst  the  Elohim  of 
the  heathen  consisted  of  a  phiraiity  ot  objects,  huinun  and  inanimate, 
the  Elohira  of  the  Jews,  was  self-existent,  independent,  and  one  only 
being.  The  intention  of  Moses  was  to  caution  the  Jews  ag^^aust  the 
supposition  that  their  Elohim  was  like  the  gods  of  the  heathen. 
That  this  was  his  design,  appears  evident  flrom  Deut.  xi.  16:  "Take 
heed  to  yourselves,  that  your  hearts  be  not  deceived,  and  ye  turn 
aside  and  serve  other  gods  and  worship  them,  for  the  Lord  our  God 


Christ's  repljt  to  the  Pharisees  397 

mandments?  Jesus  answered:  The  chief  of  all  the  com- 
mandments is:  Hear  O  Israel,  Jehovah  our  God  is 
ONE  Jehovah.*  And  thou  shalt  luve  the  Lord  thy  God, 
in  all  thy  life,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  mind, 
and  with  all  thy  strength.     This  the  great  and    chief 


is  one  Lord,  God  of  gods,  and  Lord  of  lords."  So  far,  therefore 
is  this  passage  from  asserting  the  plurality  in  Unity,  (hat  it  declares 
directly  the  reverse.  The  great  founder  and  teacher  of  Christian- 
ity, called  the  attention  of  the  Jews  to  the  important  doctrine  taught 
in  this  text  to  their  Fathers,  Hear  O,  Israel,  the  Lord  thy  God  is 
one:  Knjto?  0  Osoj  aw,  Ki/jto?  ek  £0"Tiy,  Mark  xii.  29.  We  have  then 
the  opinion  of  our  great  Master  to  authorize  our  interpretation,  be- 
cause it  is  evident,  that  He  understood  the  term  used  by  Moses  to 
be  singular;  and  consequently  this  mighty  bulwark  of  Trinitarianism, 
is  levelled  with  the  very  dust.  Jesus  calls  this,  the  first  and  great 
commandment;  and  the  first  of  the  decalogue  is,  "Thou  shalt  have 
no  other  gods  before  my  face.''  Numerous  are  the  declarations  of 
the  Divine  Being  in  the  Old  Testament,  asserting  his  Unity.  They 
therefore,  who  seek  for  proofs  of  the  Trinity  in  the  Old  Testament, 
must  return  from  the  search  disappointed. 

Lord  King  in  his  "Critical  History  of  the  apostles'  Creed,"  p. 
55,  says,  the  Unity  of  the  Godhead  is  every  where  inculcated  in 
the  Mosaic  law:  and  the  body  of  the  Jewish  people  have  been  so 
immoveably  fixed  in  the  belief  (hereof,  that  during  their  seventeen 
hundred  years  captivity  and  dispersion,  they  have  never  deserted 
the  principle,  that  God  is  one.  This  is  evident  from  the  thirteen 
articles  of  their  faith,  composed  by  Maimonides,  the  second  of 
which  is,  THE  UNITY  OF  THE  BLESSED  God.  The  repeated  chorus 
of  the  first  hymn  of  their  liturgy  is,  "All  creatures  both  above  and 
below,  testify  and  witness,  all  of  them  as  one,  that  Iho  Lord  is  one, 
and  his  name  one." 

*  This  text  is  quoted  by  Jesus  from  Deut.  6.  4,  which  translated  as 
nearly  to  the  Hebrew  as  possible,  reads:  Jehovah  our  Gods  is  one 
Jehovah.  Hence  many  have  supposed  from  the  plural  form  of  the 
word  Elohimy  Gods,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  here  ac- 
knowledged. For  why  say  they  shopld  God  be  in  the  plural  and 
Jehovah  in  the  singular,  if  there  be  not  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the 
essence  of  the  Deity.''  Another  circumstance  which  induces  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  Trinitarian  doctrine  to  suppose,  that  something  fa- 
vourable to  their  hypothesis  is  implied  in  the  plural  form  of  the 
word  Elohim,  is  that  in  several  passages  of  scripture,  especially. 
Gen.  1.1,  this  word,  in  its  plural  form,  is  connected  with  a  verb  in 
the  singular  number. 

51 


398  ghuist's  reply  to  the  Pharisees. 

commandment.     The  second  resembles  it:  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.     There  is  no  command- 


This  fanciful  opinion  which  can  plead  no  higher  authority,  than 
ignorance  ot  the  siyle  ot  the  Hebrew  language  on  which  it  depends, 
needs  no  other  refutation  than  that  which  the  Evangelist  here  sup- 
plies; for  he  renders  the  word,  Elohim  in  the  Hebrew  text  of  Moses, 
by  the  Greek  ©wj,  God,  in   the  singular.     The  Septuagint  version 
of  the^gPentateuch   made  280  years  before  Christ,  uniformly  trans- 
lates the  word  Elohim  by  ©j  y,  God,  ond  Jehovah  by  Ki/^wj,  Lord^ 
both  in  the  singular  number.     Buxtorf  and  other  learned   Hebre- 
cians  say,  that  in  the  Hebrew,  the  plural  is  used  to  denote  dignity 
or  majesty,  and  hence  Buxtorf  observes  in  his  Lexicon,  that  Elohim^ 
when  used  to  denote  the  true  God,  has  not  a  plural  but  a  singular 
signification.     Accordingly  in  reading  the  Hebrew  Bible,  we  meet 
the  words  God,  Lord,  Creator,  Master,  and   Face,  in  the  plural 
form,  when  the  connection  shows  them  to  be  of  singular  import. 
As  still   more  complete  and  satisfactory  evidence,  that   the  word 
Elohim,  does  not  necessarily  signify  more  than  one,  it  is  applied  to  a 
single  idol,  whether  male  or  female;  such  as  Baal,   Dagon,  Ashto- 
retb;  to  one  man,  Ex.  4.  16,  and  7.  1;  to  one  angel.  Judges   13  22; 
nay  even  the  golden  calf  is  so  called  by  Aaron.     Calvin  in  his  com- 
mentary on  Gen.  1.1,  speaking  of  those  who  argue  in  f^ivour  of  a 
Trinity  from  the  connection  of  the  plural  Elohim   with    the   verb, 
bara,   created,  in   the  singular,  justly  observes:  Manendi  sunt  lec- 
tor es,  ut  sibi  a  violentis  ejusmodi  glossis  caveant.     Readers  should  be 
admonished  to  be  on  their  guard  against  such  violent  comments.     Also 
Dr.  Edwards,  in  his  Exercitations  on  Genesis,  remarks:  That  some 
have  supposed  there  lurks  a  mystery  in  the  word  Elohim  constru- 
ed with   a  verb  in  the  singular,  denoting  Trinity  in  unity;  but  what 
shall  be  said  of  Adonim,  Baalim,  and  even  Behemoth,  Job  14.  10, 
which  are  read  with  singular  adjuncts;  the  last  of  which  is  perhaps 
used  in  the  plural  to  express  the  vastness  of  that  beast.     The  true 
reason  why  Elohim  and  similar  words  are  used  in  the  plural  form, 
when  the  subject  is  singular,  is  given  by  Bythner  in  Lyra  Propheti- 
ca,  where  he  says,  they  are  put  in  the  plural  after  the  idiom  of  the 
Hebrew  tongue,  to  express  majest}'  and  glory.     According  to  this 
opinion  Bishop  Beveridge,  one  of  the  most  pious  and  learned  divines, 
says,  in  his  treatise  on  the  "Pwenty-nine  Articles,  the  term  Elohim, 
and  the  phrases:  "Let  us  make  man;"  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 
God  of  Hosts,"  constitute  a  stronger  argument  for  the  majesty  and 
super-eminent  sanctity  of  the  Deity,  than  for  a  Trinity  in  the  di- 
vine nature.     Many   similar  acknowledgments  might  be  collected 
from  the  writings  of  the  most  learned  commentators  both  Catholic 
and  Protestantj  but  enough  has  been  said  to  remove  from  the  text, 


Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees.  rJ99 

ment  greater  than  these ;  and  on  these  hang  the  law  and 
the  prophets. 

And  the  Scribe  replied:  Rabbi,  thou  hast  well  and 
truly  answered:  for  he  is  One,  and  there  is  not  another* 


all  imaginary  ideas  of  a  Trinity  in  unity,  at  least  in  the    rainda  of 
those  who  regard  the  truth,  and  feel  the  sense  of  shame. 

*  The  answer  of  this  teacher  of  the  law  would  have  been  consid- 
ered extremely  defective  by  most  of  the  professedly  orthodox 
Christians.  The  teacher  had  no  idea  of  the  Deity  of  Jesus,  or  of 
any  other  person  than  the  one  Jehovah,  whom  he  designates  as 
one  in  the  strictest  sense,  by  the  use  of  the  pronouns  he,  other,  and 
the  numeral  one.  Had  the  Saviour  ever  intended  to  teach  or  ap- 
probate the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  he  would  have  informed  this 
teacher,  that  there  was  »\\og,  another  person  in  the  Deity,  without 
the  knowledge  of  which,  his  creed  would  be  defective. 

This  reply  of  our  Lord  to  the  Jewish  teacher,  contains  the  most 
indubitable  and  decisive  evidence  for  the  divine  unity.  The  use  of 
the  singular  pronoun  is  calculated  to  put  all  disputation  to  rest. 
Both  Christ  and  the  Scribe  use  the  numeral  one  and  the  pronoun  He, 
as  descriptive  of  Jehovah's  unity.  Just  so  long  therefore  as  one  does 
not  mean  three,  nor  the  pronoun  He,  signify  they,  so  long  will  this 
text  stand  a  witness  against  the  Trinity.  Nay  we  assert,  that  while 
intellect  holds  a  place  in  the  human  brain;  honesty,  a  seat  in  the  hu- 
man heart;  grammatical  construction ,  a  ruling  influence  over  human 
language,  and  the  Bible  claims  the  respect  amA  veneration  of  men, 
just  90  long  will  the  True  God  have  these  Jour  witnesses  in  the  earth, 
to  stand  up  against  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  an  insult  to  hones- 
ty, an  absurdity  to  the  reason  of  the  mind,  a  violence  to  grammatical 
construction  and  mathematical  calculations,  and  the  antagonist  and 
anti-Christ  of  divine  revelation.  The  Holy  Bible,  blessed  be  God, 
oflfers  no  insult  to  the  understanding  of  man;  it  teaches  us  the  knowl- 
edge of  one  only  indivisible  uncompounded  Lord  God,  and  one 
Lord  Jesus,  the  Son  of  the  Father,  originated  by  him,  inferior  to 
him,  and  dependent  on  him,  yet  exalted  by  him  to  be  Lord,  Ruler, 
Saviour,  and  Judge  of  men. 

As  a  general  summary  of  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament  in 
behalf  of  the  divine  unity,  it  has  been  frequently  observed,  that  out 
of  1300  passages,  where  the  word  God,  occurs,  not  one  implies  a 
plurality  of  persons,  nor  necessarily  implies  that  there  is  any  other 
person  than  the  Father  in  the  Deity;  but  of  these,  there  are  320 
passages,  where  the  Father  is  styled  God  absolutely  and  by  way  of 
eminence  and  distinction,  whereas  Christ  is  not  once  so  denomina- 
ted in  the  whole  New  Testament.  Among  these  are  17  texts 
in  which  the  Father  is  called  the  one,  or  only  God,  and  no  person  or 


400  Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees. 

besides  him.  And  to  love  him  with  all  the  heart,  and 
with  all  the  understanding  and  with  all  the  strength,  in 
all  life,  is  more  than  all  burnt-offerings  and  sacrifices. 

being  is  ever  denominated  o  ©eo?  God  emphatically,  with  the  article 
prefixed,  except  the  Father  of  Jesus.  There  are  105  passages  where 
the  Father  is  styled  God  with  peculiar  high  titles  or  epithets:  but  the 
Son  is  never  so  called.  In  unison  with  all  these  marks  of  the 
Father's  unrivalled  claims  to  Deity,  there  are  90  passages  of 
scripture  in  which  all  prater  and  praise  are  declared  due  to  him 
alone,  and  the  direction  of  all  things  referred  to  his  administration 
and  glory. 

Matthew  xxviii.  19,  speaks  of  three  persons  or  names,  but  never 
intimates  perfect  equality,  perfect  union,  nor  any  necessary  distinc- 
tion by  which  we  might  judge  of  the  Trinity.  The  whole  argu- 
ment therefore,  that  can  be  drawn  from  this  text,  is,  that  the  com- 
mission is  given  to  baptize  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit;  hence  the  Trinitarian  infers  the  Deity  of  the  Son  and  Spirit 
from  a  supposition  that  Baptism  is  an  act  of  devotion,  which  implies 
that  the  person,  in  whose  name  it  is  performed,  is  truly  God.  But 
if  so,  Moses  must  have  been  God,  for  Paul  says,  all  Israel  were 
baptized  into  Moses,  1  Cor.  x.  1.  Baptism  in  the  name  of  a  per- 
son is  only  a  rite  implying  the  acknowledgment  of  that  person,  as 
an  instructor  or  guide:  and  sometimes  implies  connection  with  a  sect 
or  party.  Accordingly  Schoetgen's  Horae  Hebraicae  on  this  pass- 
age, informs  us,  that  the  Samaritans  baptized  proselytes  in  the  name 
of  mount  Geiisim,  to  distinguish  their  sect,  who  worshipped  in 
the  temple  on  that  mount,  from  the  Jews  who  worshipped  at  mount 
Zion.  But  who  could  be  so  wild  as  to  infer  that  the  Samaritans 
worshipped  a  mountain  or  believed  in  its  Godhead! 

The  apostolical  benediction,  ii  Cor.  xiii.  14,  has  been  alleged  as 
proof  of  a  Trinity.  But  surely  all  that  can  be  intended  by  the  pass- 
age, is  a  pious  wish  that  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God  might  be 
upon  them;  that  they  might  always  possess  that  favor  manifested  by 
God  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  a  sinful  world;  and  that  the  Divine 
influence  which  rested  on  the  apostles  and  pFimitive  Christians, 
might  remain  with  them  constantly.  The  Greek  word  xoivana,  from 
Koiioi,  common^  public,  signifies  a  partaking,  or  distribution,  and 
may  well  mean  a  participation  of  the  Divine  influence;  but  what 
sense  would  there  be  in  the  distribution  of  a  person?  Salvation  is 
of  God,  through  Christ,  and  effected  by  the  Divine  influence,  or 
spirit  of  God,  but  where  is  the  Trinity;  or  any  necessity  of  its  ex- 
istence.^ 

All  the  Greek  Fathers,  omit  1  John  5.  7;  though  many  of  them 
cite  the  sixth  or  eighth  verse  to  prove  the  Trinity,  they  never  men- 
tion the  seventh,    which,  had  it  existed,  would  have  been  positive 


Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees.  401 

Jesus  observing  that  he  answered  pertinently, 
said  to  him:  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God. 
After  this,  none  ventured  to  question  him,  any  more. 


proof.  This  appears  from  the  works  of  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  (Ecu- 
menius,  Didymus,  and  Alexandrius,  who  in  their  commpnts  on  the 
passage,  read  the  spirit,  water  and  blood,  but  make  no  mention  of 
the  three  in  Heaven.  It  is  here  worthy  of  remark,  that  when  the 
Eusebians  urged,  that  the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  should  not  be 
considered  as  one,  but  different  things;  Gregory  N;izianzen,  and 
Nicctas,  answer  that  they  might  be  considered  a?  one,  because  John 
calls  the  spirit,  water,  and  blood  one.  Hence  we  reasonably  infer 
from  the  objections  of  the  Eusebians  and  the  answer  of  the  Catho- 
lics, that  the  text  was  not  in  their  books.  Can  the  most  ardent 
stickler  refuse  to  yield  when  twenty-eight  of  the  earliest  Greek 
authors  never  cite  the  passage.  Notwithstanding,  the  quotations 
in  the  works  of  Origen  alone,  are  so  numerous,  that  if  the  New 
Testament  were  lost,  it  might  nearly  be  restored  from  him. 

The  Latin  fathers  do  not  quote  this  verse,  but  on  the  contrary,  as 
oft  as  they  cite  the  passage,  they  omit  the  three  in  Heaven,  as  well 
as  their  unity.  This  is  done  after  the  days  of  Jerome,  by  Hesy- 
chius,  Cassiodorus,  Beda,  and  Pope  Eusebius.  Nor  was  this  text 
once  referred  to,  or  cited  during  all  that  long  and  vehement  contro- 
versy about  the  Trinity,  which  agitated  the  Universal  Church  dur- 
ing the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries.  Now  had  it  been  in  their  books, 
it  would  have  been  frequently  produced,  as  a  most  substantial  wit- 
ness, yet  not  once  does  it  occur  in  all  the  disputes,  epistles,  ora- 
tions, or  other  writings  of  the  Greek  or  Latin  Fathers.  Austin 
wrote  fifteen  books  on  the  Trinity,  but  never  once  referred  to  this 
text.  Ambrose  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  his  book  "■Concerning  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  cites  the  eighth  verse  to  prove  the  Unity  of  the  three 
persons,  but  makes  no  mention  whatever  of  the  seventh.  The 
same  is  done  by  Facundus  and  Eucherius;  therefore  this  text  made 
no  part  of  the  scriptures  in  those  days,  when  it  was  most  needed, 
seeing  twenty-one  of  the  earliest  Latin  authors,  have  never  reiier- 
red,  to  1  John  v.  7,  in  all  their  writings. 

The  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  in  Greek,  which  are 
now  extant,  containing  this  first  epistle  of  John,  are  in  number  one 
hundred  and  thirteen.  Yet  the  learned  professor  of  Divinity  in 
Gottengen  University,  Dr.  Michaelis,  in  his  most  invaluable  "/n- 
troduction  to  the  New  Testament,"  positively  asserts,  that  not  a  sin- 
gle Greek  manuscript,  written  before  the  sixteenth  century,  con- 
tains the  controverted  passage. 

All  the  ancient  versions  want  this  passage  i.  e.  both  the  Syrian 
versions,  the  Arabic,  the  Coptic,  the  Ethiopic,  the  Armenian,  the 
Sclavonic  or  Russian,  and  the  ancient  Latin.     Though  the  modern 


4^02  Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees. 

Now  whilst  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together,  and 
Jesuii  was  teaching  in  the  temple,  he  asked  them:  What 
think  ye  of  Christ?  Whose  son  is  he?*  They  replied: 


Vulgate,  Armenian  and  Russian  versions  have  this  text,  yet  it  was 
not  interpolatpd  in  the  Armenian  before  the  fourteenth,  nor  in  the 
Russian  before  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  Divine  Unity,  is  a  doctrine  written,  as  with  sunbeams,  on 
the  ethereal  heavens,  inscribed  on  the  shining  stars  and  revolving 
planets;  and  is  like  the  conclusion  of  the  philosopher  and  the  opin- 
ion of  the  peasant.  Nothing  but  the  basest  superstition  could  ever 
have  effaced  this  sentiment  from  the  human  mind.  Being  an  eter- 
nal truth  founded  on  the  nature  and  reason  of  things,  it  must  ever 
be  the  deduction  of  unperverted  minds.  For  if  God  be  possessed 
of  all  possible  perfections,  in  an  intinite  degree,  all  other  gods  must 
be  useless,  or  rather,  the  very  supposition  of  their  existence  is  ab- 
surd; and  their  existence,  if  possible,  would  only  tend  to  disturb, 
pervert,  or  overturn  the  order  and  harmony  of  the  universe. 

What  more  could  be  necessary  for  the  formation  and  govern- 
ment of  infinite  space,  filled  with  worlds,  than  infinite  power  and 
infinite  wisdom,  universally  diffused  throughout  that  infinite  space. 
Can  infinite  space  itself,  admit  more  than  one  infinite  Deity?  And 
can  the  Deity  inclose,  in  his  very  nature,  any  other  being,  that  is 
not  subordinate  and  limited,  seeing  such  a  one  must  be  entirely  un- 
der the  influence  of  his  control,  and  shut  up  in  his  unbounded  grasp? 
One  infinite  Jehovah  is  sufficient;  more  would  be  unnecessary; 
they  cannot  exist;  infinite  space  could  not  contain  them.  The  uni- 
verse, filled  with  an  omnipresent,  Almighty  God,  is  mathematical- 
ly and  physically  equal  to  a  universe  full  of  Almighty  Gods. 
Where  then  is  there  room  for  the  Trinity? 

This  doctrine  is  equally  abhorred  by  the  testimony  of  scripture. 
Open  the  book  of  the  law,  what  saiih  it?  I,  Jehovah,  am  your 
God.  Thou  shalt  have  no  other,  Ex.  20.  23.  Consult  the  Pro- 
phets. Jehovah  by  them,  declares  there  is  no  other  God:  I  know 
not  any,  Is.  44.  8.  Hear  Jesus  himself.  Thou  shalt  worship  the 
Lord  thy  God;  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve.  Matt.  4.  10.  This  is 
eternal  life,  to  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  John  17.  3.  Ask  the 
Apostles.  They  shall  also  tell  you.  To  us  there  is  but  one  God, 
even  the  Father,  1  Cor.  8.  6.  In  one  word,  from  the  first  commu- 
nication of  the  Deity,  till  the  whole  volume  of  revelation  was  seal- 
ed, the  uniform  language  of  God's  messengers  has  been,  Jehovah 
the  Creator  of  the  universe,  is  one;  there  is  no  other  God  but  he. 
*  That  the  expected  Messiah  should  be  the  son  ot  David,  was  a 
thing  well  known  among  the  Jews,  and  universally  acknowledged: 
see  John  vii  42,  and  is  a  most  powerful  proof  against  them,  that  the 
Messiah  is  come.     Their  families  are  now  so  perfectly  confounded, 


Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees.  403 

David's.  Jesus  answered:  How  can  ye,  who  are 
Scribes,  assert  that  the  Messiah  must  be  a  son  of  David? 
when  David  himself  speaking  by  the  holy  spirit,  in  the 

that  they  cannot  trace  back  their  genealogies  with  any  degree  of 
certainty.-  nor  have  they  been  capable  of  ascertaining  the  different 
families  of  their  tribes,  for  more  than  sixteen  hundred  years.  Why 
then  should  the  spirit  of  prophecy  assert  so  often,  and  in  such  ex- 
press terms;  that  Jesus  was  to  come  from  the  family  of  David;  if 
he  were  to  make  his  appearance  when  the  public  registers  were  all 
demolished.''  Is  it  not  evident  that  God  designed  that  the  Messiah 
should  come  at  a  time  when  the  public  genealogies  might  be  in- 
spected, to  prove  that  He  was  the  subject  of  the  prophecies,  and  that 
no  other  was  to  be  expected.  The  Evangelists,  iVIatthew  and 
Luke,  were  so  fully  convinced  of  the  conclusiveness  of  this  proof, 
that  they  appealed  to  the  public  registers;  and  thus  proved  to  the 
Jews,  from  their  own  records,  that  Jesus  was  born  of  the  family 
mentioned  by  the  prophets.  Nor  do  we  find  that  a  Scribe,  Phari- 
see, or  any  other,  ever  attempted  to  invalidate  this  proof,  though 
it  would  have  essentially  served  their  cause,  could  they  have  done 
it.  But,  as  this  has  not  been  done,  we  may  fairly  conclude  it  was 
impossible  to  do  it. — Clarke  in  loc. 

It  may  be  proper  here,  to  be  somewhat  express,  in  our  views 
of  the  person  of  Christ,  seeing  we  have  shown,  that  the  doctrines 
of  the  Trinity  and  Deity  of  Jesus,  are  not  contained  in  the  scrip- 
tures. In  human  nature,  there  is  no  more  common  or  promi- 
nent disposition  than  that  of  turning  to  the  right  or  left  extre  nes, 
and  erring  from  the  straight  path  of  mediocrity.  One  cries  Jesus 
must  be  God,  or  the  Bible  is  of  no  importance,  and  I  am  deprived  of 
a  Saviour.  Another  affirms  Jesus  must  be  a  man,  and  no  more 
than  a  man  by  nature,  or  the  scriptures  are  uoiiitelligible,  and  I 
am  deprived  of  an  example  of  faiih  and  obedience;  and  left  with- 
out any  evidence  from  precedent,  that  there  will  be  a  resurrec- 
tion; for  the  obedience,  moral  perfection,  and  resurrection  of  a 
God,  is  no  example  which  I  can  expect  to  follow.  Now  from 
Twelve  years'  continual,  assiduous,  and  often  painful  examination 
of  the  question:  VV  hose  Son  is  hef  After  reading  all  that  has  been 
said,  on  every  side  of  the  question,  I  have  come  to  the  mort  con- 
fident conclusion,  that  the  SabeUwn  and  Snciniaa  schemes  are 
irratitmal ,  anti-scriptural  and  pernicious  extremes,  alike  abs^ird, 
dangerous,  and  incompatible  with  a  fair  and  just  interpretation  of 
scripture.  The  attempt  of  the  Trinitarian  to  combine  these  two 
extremes,  by  compounding  the  person  of  Jesus  of  the  divine  and 
human  natures,  renders  the  subject  more  gross  and  complex,  con- 
fused and  self-contradictory.     Two  falsehoods  will  never  make  one 


404  Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees. 

book  of  Psalms,  calls  him  Lord,  saying:  The  Lord  said 
to  my  Lcrd.  sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine 
enemies  thy  footstool.  Now  if  David  call  him  Lord,* 
how  then  can  he  be  his  Son?  And  no  man  could  answer 
bim;  but  the  common  people  heard  him  with  delight. 


truth.  On  none  of  these  schemes,  could  a  rational  being  expect  a 
great  High  Priest  to  expiate  sin,  and  successfully  manage  the  medi- 
atorial economy.  The  interposition  of  a  person  distinct  from  God 
and  man,  was  the  only  one  qualified  to  interpose  as  Mediator;  and 
such  a  person,  of  sufficient  rank  and  dignity,  I  have  shown  the  Son 
of  God  to  be.  Section  First,  pp.  12 — 18;  Sectioa  Twenty-Fourth, 
pp.  93,  94;  Section  Sixty-Fifth,  pp.  250,  251,  253 — 5j  and  Section 
Sixty-Sixth,  p.  259. 

*  Chtifflin  says,  chairs  are  never  used  in  Persia  but  at  the  coro- 
nation of  their  kings,  it  being  their  general  custom  to  sit  on  floors, 
carpets,  or  matresses.  The  king  is  seated  in  a  chair  of  gold,  set 
with  jewels,  three  feet  high.  The  chairs,  which  are  used  by  the 
people  in  the  East,  are  always  so  high  as  to  make  a  footstool  neces- 
sary. And  this  proves  the  propriety  of  the  style  of  scripture, 
which  always  joins  the  footstool  to  the  throne;  Isaiah  Ixvi.  1, 
2  Chron.  ix.  18.  This  passage,  which  is  taken  fromPsalm  ex.  1, 
is  strongly  expressive  of  the  exaltation  of  our  Lord;  and  the  de- 
pression of  his  enemies  is  denoted  by  their  becoming  his  footstool. 


SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TWELFTH. 

Christ  Inveighs  against  the  Pharisees. 

Then  in  the  audience  of  all  the  people,  Jesus  address- 
ed his  disciples,  saying:  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  sit 
in  Moses'  Chair,  therefore  observe  and  do  whatever 
they  enjoin;*  but  beware  of  following  their  exanciples; 

*  We  must  not  understand  our  Lord  to  inculcate  absolute  obe- 
dience to  the  dictates  of  the  Scribes,  but  to  enjoin  obedience  to 
all  that  they  taught  in  accordance  with  the  doctrines  and  precepts 
of  the  Mosaic  law.  In  like  manner  children  are  commanded  to 
obey  their  parents  in  all  things,  Col.  3.  20.  Teachers  and  parents 
and  magistrates  ought  to  be  obeyed  in  all  things,  which  are  not  in- 
consistent with  the  letter  of  the  divine  law,  or  civil  constitution  of 
the  country. 


CHRIST  INVEIGHS  AGAINST   THE  PHARISEES.      405 

tor  they  say,  but  do  not  practise.  Whatever  they  do, 
they  do  to  be  seen  of  men.  For  this  purpose  they 
wear  broad  Phylacteries,*  and  enlarge  the  borders 
of  their  garments,  and  love  the  chief  seats  at  entertain- 
ments, and  to  hear  men  call  them  Rabbi.  But  be  ye 
not  called  Master,  for  ye  have  only  one  teacher,  neither 
style  any  man  on  earth  your  Father,  for  he  alone  is 
your  Father  who  is  in  Heaven,  and  ye  are  all  brethren. 
Neither  assume  the  title  of  leaders,  for  one  is  your 
guide,  the  Messiah. 

Alas,  for  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  Hypocrites! 
For  ye  devour  widows'  families,  though,  at  the  same 
time,  ye  make  long  prayers  for  a  disguise ;  therefore  your 
punishment  shall  be  the  greater.  Alas  for  you.  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  Hypocrites!  for  ye  traverse  sea  and  land 
to  make  one  proselyte,f  and  when  he  is  gained,  ye  make 

*  Phjlacteries,  from  the  Greek  <^\j-Kc(^(tu>,  to  preserve,  signifies 
memorials  or  preservatives.  They  were  long  and  narrow  pieces 
of  parchment  or  vellum,  on  which  were  written  certain  portions 
of  the  law,  especially  these  four  sections,  Ex.  14.  1 — 9,  and  13. 
11—16,  Deut.  6. 4—9,  and  1 1, 13—22.  These  Phylacteries  were 
used  by  the  Jews  as  memorials  of  the  law,  and  their  obligation  to 
keep  it.  They  were  also  called  Tephilim,  prayers,  because 
chiefly  worn  at  prayers:  and  they  were  supposed  to  operate  as 
charms  against  witchcraft  and  evil  spirits.  The  Jews  believe 
they  were  commanded  to  wear  them,  by  what  is  said,  Ex.  IS.  9. 
Deut.  6.  8.  But  the  Caraites  and  others,  have  thought  these 
passages  of  scripture  should  be  understood  figuratively,  and  that 
they  mean  the  same  as  what  is  said  in  plain  language,  Deut.  6. 7: 
Ye  shall  tell  these  things  to  your  children,  and  meditate  on  them 
when  ye  sit  in  your  houses. 

t  Proselytes,  Tf03-nXi/9oi,  from  the  p.  m.  of  ff?o(rEgxT"'»  ^^^ose  who 
have  entered,  were  those  strangers  from  the  heathen  who  re- 
nounced idolatry,  and  took  hold  of  God's  covenant,  by  joining 
themselves  to  the  Jewish  nation,  and  professing  the  religion  ol 
Moses.  These  were  divided  into  two  classes,  according  to  the 
nature  of  their  connection  with  the  Jewish  people:  Proselytes  oj 
the  Gate,  and  Proselytes  of  the  Covenant,  or  of  liightcousness. 

1.  The  Proselytes  of  the  Gate  were  those  pious  persons  among 
the  heathen  who  renounced  idolatry,  and  lived  according  to  many 
of  the  moral  precepts,  but  did  not  submit  to  the  ceremonial  rites 
of  the  Jewish  religion;  therefore  thev  were  not  admitted  to  anv 

52 


U)6       CHRIST  INVEIGHS  AGAINST  THE  PHARISEES, 

him  a  son  of  Hell  *  more  deceitful  than  yourselves', 
Alas  for  you,  ye  blind  guides,  who  say:  To  swear  by 
the  temple  is  not  binding,  but  he  that  swears  by  the 
gold  of  the  temple,  is  bound  by  his  oath.     Blind  and 

inheritance  in  Israel,  nor  were  they  initiated  by  any  public  cere' 
monies.  The  Jews  say,  that  this  class  of  proselytes  observed 
the  seven  precepts  which  God  gave  to  Noah:  The  first  forbids 
Idolatry,  the  second  enjoins  the  worship  of  the  true  God  alone; 
the  third  forbids  adultery  and  incest;  the  fourth  murder;  the 
fifth  theft;  the  sixth  enjoins  the  veneration  of  the  magistrate,  and 
the  punishment  of  muraer  by  death;  the  seventh  prohibits  eating 
of  blood,  or  any  thing  strangled.  Such  were  the  precepts  by 
which  the  Proselytes  of  the  Gate  were  to  regulate  their  lives,  and 
for  the  observance  of  them,  they  were  promised  a  portion  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah  in  the  world  to  come.  Such  Proselytes 
were  the  ancient  Rechabites,  or  posterity  of  Hobab;  such  also 
were  Cornelius  and  the  Eunuch  of  Candace,  and  those  Greeks 
who  desired  to  see  Jesus  at  the  Passover,  John  12.  20. 

2.  The  Proselytes  of  Righteousness  were  these  who  submitted 
to  the  whole  law  of  Moses,  and  consequently  became  domicilia- 
ted among  the  Jews,  and  were  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of 
their  nation.  These  were  initiated  by  three  ceremonies,  circum- 
cision, baptism  and  sacrifice.  Before  baptism,  after  the  wound 
inflicted  by  circumcision  was  healed,  the  candidate  was  asked:  If 
he  sincerely  repented  of  his  past  life  and  actions?  If  he  acted 
without  any  worldly  view  in  renouncing  his  former,  and  embracing 
the  Jewish  religion.>>  If  he  was  fully  resolved  to  observe  the 
commandments  of  God.  If  he  answered  positively,  he  was  in- 
structed in  the  principles  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  then  im- 
mersed under  water  in  the  presence  of  three  witnesses;  and  this 
burying  under  water,  and  rising  out  of  it,  was  considered  as  the 
emblem  of  his  death  to  all  former  relations,  opinions,  and  prac- 
tices, and  a  resurrection  by  regeneration  to  be  a  true  son  of 
Abraham.  And  such  a  proselyte  was  henceforth  reckoned  a  Jew. 
See  Section  fourth,  pp.  28 — 32.  See  also  p.  99. 

*  This  is  is  a  Hebraism,  for  according  to  the  idiom  of  the  Jew* 
ish  language,  persons  are  often  represented  as  sons  or  children 
of  their  ruling  disposition  or  passion,  and  consequently  by  a 
figure  of  speech,  they  were  also  called  sons  of  that  thing  or 
quality  to  which  this  disposition  or  habit  had  a  direct  tendency. 
Thus  we  read  of  children  of  disobedience,  sons  of  Belial;  and 
also  ot  sons  of  Gehenna  or  perdition.  In  this  place  our  Lord 
blames  the  Pharisees  for  making  their  proselytes  more  deceitful 
than  themselves.  Kypke  and  Wakefield  have  shewn  from  the 
best  Greek  writers,  that  ^iTrXon^ov  implies  more  deceitful  or  hypo- 
criiical.     Dionysius  Hal.  connects  JittAovs  x«i  9ro»Kt>.o?,  deceitful,  and- 


CHRIST  INVEIGHS  AGAINST  THE  PHARISEES.        407 

jfoolish!  which  is  more  sacred,  the  gold  or  the  temple, 
which  sanctifies  the  gold  ?  To  swear  by  the  altar  is 
not  binding,  but  he  that  swears  by  the  offering  on  it,  is 
bound  by  his  oath.  Blind  and  foolish!  Which  is  most 
sacred,  the  offering,  or  the  altar  that  sanctifies  the  of- 
fering.'* Whosoever,  therefore,  swears  by  the  altar, 
•wears  by  it,  and  all  that  is  thereon.  And  whosoever 
swears  by  the  temple,*  swears  by  it  and  Him  that 
dwelt  therein.  And  whosoever  swears  by  Heaven, 
swears  by  the  throne  of  God,  and  Him  who  sits  thereon. 
Blind  guides,  ye  strain  to  avoid  a  gnat,t  but  swallow  a 
camel. 

Alas  for  you.  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  fof 
ye  resemble  whitened  sepulchres,^  which  appear  beau- 
tiful without,  but  within  are  full  of  corruption  and  o^ 
dead  men's  bones.  In  like  manner,  ye  appear  outwardly 
to  men ,  to  be  -righteous,  but  inwardly  ye  are  full  of  hy- 
pocrisy and  malignity. 

crafty,  Justin  Martyr  tells  Trypho,  i/owr  proselytes  do  not  only 
disbelieve  Christ,  but  are  more  blasphemous  against  him  than  your- 
selves. The  reason  seems  to  be,  that  on  the  bad  habits  of  these  na- 
tive heathens,  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Pharisees  had  a  baneful  eflfect. 

*The  verb  is  in  the  past  time,  in  the  best  MSS.  and  editions 
of  Bengel  and  Griesbach.  The  Jews  unanimously  acknowledge 
*hat  five  things  were  wanting  in  the  second  temple  that  were 
found  in  the  first:  The  Ark,  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy,  the  Urim 
and  Thummira,  the  Sacred  Fire,  and  the  Shechinahj  hence  it  is 
thought  that  Christ  hinted  to  the  Jews  by  the  use  of  the  past 
tense,  that  God  had  forsaken  their  temple. 

t  This  is  said  in  allusion  to  a  custom  among  the  Jews  of  strain- 
ing or  filtering  their  wine,  lest  they  should  swallow  any  small 
animal  forbidden  by  the  law  as  unclean.  It  is  probable,  their 
nicety  in  this  respect,  might  become  proverbial  for  their  exactness 
in  small  matters. 

iShaw  in  his  travels  gives  a  general  description  of  the  differ- 
ent sorts  of  tombs  and  sepulchres  in  the  East,  concluding  with 
this  paragraph.  "Now  all  these,  with  the  very  walls  of  the  in- 
closure,  being  always  kept  clean,  white-washed,  and  beautified; 
they  continue  to  this  day  to  be  an  excellent  comment  upon  the 
expression  of  our  Lord,  where  he  mentions  the  garnishing  of  the 
sepulchres,  Matt,  xxiii.  29,  and  compares  the  Scribes  and  Phari* 
sees  to  "whited  sepulchres." 


408        CHRIST   INVEIGHS   AGAINST   THE    PHARISEES. 

Alas  for  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for 
ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  Prophets,  and  adorn  the 
monuments  of  the  righteous,  and  say:  Had  we  lived  in 
the  days  of  our  fathers,  we  would  not  have  been  their 
accomplices  in  the  murder  of  the  Prophets.  Thus  ye 
admit  the  deeds  of  your  fathers,  and  bear  witness  against 
yourselves,  that  ye  are  the  sons  of  them,  who  slaughtered 
the  Prophets.  Fill  ye  up  then,  the  measure  of  your 
fathers.  Serpents!  brood  of  vipers!  how  can  you  es- 
cape the  punishment  of  Gehenna? 

Therefore  says  the  wisdom  of  God,  1  will  send  you 
Prophets,  Apostles,  wise  men,  and  Scribes:  Some  of 
them  ye  will  kill  and  crucify;  others  ye  will  scourge  in 
your  synagogues,  and  persecute  from  city  to  city;  so 
that  on  you  may  be  charged  the  blood  of  all  the  Prophets 
and  righteous,  shed  on  the  earth  from  its  foundation, 
from  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel,  to  the  blood  of  Zech- 
ariah,  son  of  Barachiah,  whom  you  slew  between  the 
altar  and  the  sanctuary.  Verily,  I  say  to  you,  all  this 
blood  shall  be  required  of  this  generation. 

O  Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  which  killest  the  Prophets^ 
and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  to  thee,  how  often  would 
I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  as  an  eagle* 
gathers  her  young  under  her  wings,  but  ye  would  not. 
Behold  your  Temple  is  left  to  you  desolate;  for  know 
ye,  that  after  a  short  time,  ye  shall  not  see  me,  till  ye 
say:  Blessed  be  he,  who  comes  in  the  name  of  the  Lord! 

*Dr.  Hales  observes,  the  word  in  the  original  being  ojvk,  is 
generic,  and  surely  more  applicable  to  the  eagle  and  his  young, 
than  to  the  hen  and  chickens  of  the  English  Bible.  He  supposes 
that  our  Lord,  as  the  leader  and  guide  of  Israel,  refers  to  his 
former  comparison,  in  the  divine  Ode,  Deut  32.  1 1. 

END  OF  PART  SECOND. 

AOHA  EN  YniSTOIS  0En,KAI  EHI THS  FHS  EIPHNH  EN  AN@PrtnCU*>. 


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